Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed the U.S. State Department to revert to Times New Roman as its official typeface for all official communications, ending a 2023 decision by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken that had adopted Calibri. The change took effect on Wednesday, December 10, according to a cable sent to U.S. diplomats.
The move aligns with the administration’s broader effort to eliminate what it describes as “wasteful” diversity initiatives and restore traditional standards in federal agencies. A State Department spokesman defended the decision, stating: “Serif typefaces remain the standard in courts, legislatures, and across federal agencies where the permanence and authority of the written record are paramount.”
Calibri’s designer, Dutch typographer Lucas de Groot, expressed mixed reactions to the news, calling the reversal “both hilarious and regrettable.” He noted that Calibri was created for digital legibility and became Microsoft Office’s default font in 2007 due to its clarity at smaller sizes. The decision follows a pattern of recent actions by the Trump administration to roll back diversity-focused policies, including removing members of military service academy advisory boards and imposing deadlines for transgender personnel to leave the armed forces. The administration has also directed federal agencies to avoid using artificial intelligence systems it deems ideologically biased.
