'Complete confusion' as Melania's new initiative said to oppose Trump admin's goals: NYT

Melania Trump’s new networking forum for female business leaders closely resembles the kind of event her husband’s administration is fighting in court, according to a New York Times report.

In September, the first lady rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to launch Imperia, surrounded by female business leaders from nearly 100 major companies, including Bank of America, IBM and Prudential. One of her advisers called the initiative “Davos for women.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has spent the year suing and investigating companies over programs aimed at helping women and minorities advance in their careers. Officials argue the programs discriminate against men and white people.

In February, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a regional Coca-Cola bottler in the Northeast over a 2024 women’s networking event at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut. About 250 women attended, stayed at the hotel, did team-building exercises and heard from female leaders. A male employee later complained to the agency that men hadn’t received the “associated benefits of attendance.”

“Excluding men from an employer-sponsored event is a Title VII violation that the E.E.O.C. will act to remedy through litigation when necessary,” the agency’s acting general counsel, Catherine Eschbach, said at the time. Last month, a federal judge declined to dismiss the case.

The Justice Department has also extracted major settlements from federal contractors over mentoring and leadership programs that took race and gender into account. That includes $17 million from IBM, one of the companies represented at Melania’s launch. Lockheed Martin paid $29.5 million, Accenture $25 million and Deloitte $21.5 million.

At the Imperia launch, the first lady urged women to lift each other up. “Do not simply advise another woman, invest in her. Do not merely open a door; create a real opportunity,” she said.

Asked on Fox Business whether Imperia was about merit rather than DEI quotas, the first lady insisted, “It’s all about the merit.” She added, “D.E.I., we’re not talking about that anymore.”

Experts told the Times the two efforts send conflicting signals to businesses.

“This is completely confusing for employers trying to navigate the administration’s civil rights priorities,” said compliance consultant David Cohen. “I support the first lady in her initiative but are employers going to run afoul of the administration if they follow it?”

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the first lady’s work is “in no way ‘at odds’ with administration priorities.” Marc Beckman, an adviser to Melania who co-produced her documentary, brushed off the questions in a text: “IMPERIA has nothing to do with the issues you raised.”

Neither the White House nor Beckman would say how Imperia is funded or structured.