The State Department has reversed a Biden-era font change, directing diplomats to use Times New Roman 14-point in all official documents. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued the order, telling embassies and consulates that the switch from Calibri to Times New Roman should take effect immediately, the department said in a statement to NPR.
The move restores Times New Roman as the department’s official typeface after it had been replaced by Calibri in 2023. Times New Roman was the department’s standard from about 2004 until the 2023 change. The State Department said consistent formatting across memoranda, papers for principals and externally shared documents “strengthens credibility and supports a unified Department identity.”
Rubio’s cable framed the 2023 adoption of Calibri as part of misguided diversity, equity and inclusion policies and described it as “another wasteful DEIA program,” according to copies obtained by Reuters and the Associated Press. The return to Times New Roman, the statement added, aligns with the White House’s “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations” directive, emphasizing a unified, professional voice.
The two fonts differ mainly in the presence of serifs—small decorative strokes at the ends of letters. Times New Roman is a serif font with those flourishes; Calibri is a sans-serif font without them. Accessibility experts note that serifs can make text harder to read for some people. Kristen Shinohara, director of the Center for Accessibility and Inclusion Research at the Rochester Institute of Technology, told NPR that serif detailing can be especially problematic for people with learning or reading disabilities such as dyslexia, or for those with low vision.
Federal accessibility guidance and the Americans with Disabilities Act favor sans-serif fonts on physical signage and display screens because they tend to be more legible. Still, serif faces like Times New Roman remain common in print newspapers, books and many legal and formal documents. The State Department said serif fonts are “more formal and professional,” but did not answer NPR’s questions about potential reductions in accessibility.
Times New Roman was created for the British newspaper The Times in the 1920s and became widely used. Microsoft used Times New Roman as a default font in programs like Word until 2007, when it adopted Calibri—a sans-serif designed with screens in mind. In 2023 Microsoft introduced Aptos as its new default font.
Rubio’s decision fits into broader efforts by the Trump administration to roll back DEI initiatives across the federal government. Since taking office, the administration has issued executive orders and directives limiting or dismantling diversity and inclusion programs in agencies, the foreign service and federal contracting, and has pressured universities and schools over DEI efforts. The administration has also signaled interest in particular aesthetics for federal communications and spaces, from a classical design emphasis for federal architecture to the White House’s own interior changes.
Other federal actions under this administration have included removing webpages on topics such as LGBTQ health from agency sites and instructing employees to avoid certain climate-related terms. Court filings recently revealed a six-page list of words reportedly barred in federal Head Start program materials, including terms like “disability,” “race” and “women.”
During Rubio’s tenure, the department has already cut or reorganized offices and initiatives intended to promote inclusion and diversity both in Washington and overseas. The font policy change is presented as part of that larger prioritization of uniformity, professionalism and alignment with administration directives.