By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday asking ‌federal contractors and their subcontractors to eliminate diversity, ‌equity and inclusion practices, the White House said.

Trump has cracked down on ​public and private organizations - from government agencies to private universities - over DEI practices.

Civil rights advocates say DEI practices help address historic inequities for marginalized groups like women, the LGBT community ‌and ethnic minorities. ⁠Trump casts DEI as anti-merit and as discriminatory against groups like white people and men.

The ⁠latest executive order signed on Thursday requires certain federal contracts to include a clause prohibiting contractors and their subcontractors from ​engaging in ​DEI, the White House said.

The ​order directs the White ‌House Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to contracting agencies for compliance and identify economic sectors whose players engage in DEI, it added.

It also directs agencies to cancel, terminate, or suspend contracts - and to suspend or debar ‌contractors - for failure to comply, ​according to the White House.

It asks ​the U.S. attorney general ​to review some violations of contractual terms ‌prohibiting DEI and to ensure "prompt ​review" of civil ​rights actions brought by private persons, the White House said.

Trump also signed an order last year that ​directed government agency ‌chiefs to dismantle DEI policies at federal agencies and ​in the private sector.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in ​Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)