The Trump administration's State Department, headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, released a memo on Wednesday with bad news for phone users and those with visual disabilities. It will rescind the switch to the font Calibri for official communications, replacing it with the previous font, Times New Roman.
The change may seem like a minor move, but it could have significant ramifications for government documents, which outline American responses to both national and international events, and are read worldwide.
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Calibri became the agency's official font in 2023, as it is considered to be a more readable typeface on digital screens. The decision to shift away from using Calibri could be a literal headache for some readers -- which might be the reason you probably don't use Times New Roman anymore at work, either.
Rubio's directive, "Return to Tradition: Times New Roman 14-Point Font Required for All Department Paper," said Times New Roman connotes "tradition, formality and ceremony."
A State Department spokesperson told CNET: "Whether for internal memoranda, papers prepared for principals or documents shared externally, consistent formatting strengthens credibility and supports a unified Department identity."
Rubio explicitly blamed diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs for what he said was a "wasteful" move to use Calibri. Following the announcement, headlines characterized the move as the latest salvo in the administration's war on "woke."
Why Calibri?
Calibri is an important font for everyone's eyes. Anadolu/Contributor via Getty
Under the Biden administration, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the move to mandate Calibri font, the same sans-serif typeface that became Microsoft's default font back in 2007. The motivation was to improve accessibility and readability.
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