As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, his Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair, Andrea Lucas, used her office to further Trump’s efforts to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration critically. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.
Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more here.
This article was first published on May 8, 2026.
May 5, 2026 | EEOC files lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices at NYT
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued The New York Times on May 5, 2026, following a monthslong investigation led by Chair Andrea Lucas over the newspaper’s alleged discrimination against a white male employee.
The complaint asserts that the Times’ diversity goals and production of annual diversity and inclusion reports demonstrate an institutional practice of discrimination against white men.
In a social media post announcing the suit, the EEOC highlighted that a “qualified white male employee was excluded from final interviews” while only non-white males were selected, and that the role went to another candidate “with less relevant experience.”
“No one is above the law — including ‘elite’ institutions,” Lucas said in a statement. “No matter the size or power of the employer, the EEOC under my leadership will not pull punches in ensuring evenhanded, colorblind enforcement of Title VII to protect America’s workers, including white males.”
Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha called the allegations “politically motivated,” asserting that they represent just the latest effort to leverage the tools of the federal government to pursue President Donald Trump’s personal aims.
“Throughout this process, the E.E.O.C. deviated from standard practices in highly unusual ways, blatantly weaponizing a traditionally independent government body to serve a predetermined narrative,” Rhoades Ha told the Times. “We will defend ourselves and our values vigorously as there is not a single piece of evidence to support any claim of discrimination.”
Kalpana Kotagal, the sole Democrat on the commission, voted against authorizing the lawsuit. In a post on social media, she argued that a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility alone is not evidence of discrimination.
“These programs are critical to building and maintaining successful workplaces as well as attracting and retaining top talent,” Kotagal wrote. “I fear this litigation is driven not by the merits, but by a desire to advance the administration’s political agenda, which weakens civil rights protections for workers and undermines employer efforts to advance equal employment opportunity.
“Notably, this litigation is filed on the heels of New York Times reporting on the weaponization of the agency, and the diversion of limited resources toward cases that align with the administration’s priorities,” she added.
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.