The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, claiming the newspaper's employment policies discriminated against a white employee. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. According to the lawsuit, the unnamed employee had been an editor at the company since 2014 and was working as a senior staff international desk editor when he applied for a position as deputy real estate editor. 

The lawsuit alleges the Times passed him over in favor of a less qualified outside applicant, a non-white female, who would help the company increase representation of female and non-white employees in the newsroom's leadership positions. 

According to the EEOC, she had no experience in real estate journalism, even though the position required it. Additionally, she was sent to the final interview panel without first going through the standard review process for the position. None of the candidates who advanced to the final interview process were white males. 

"There is no such thing as 'reverse discrimination'; all race or sex discrimination is equally unlawful, according to long-established civil rights principles. The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head," EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement. 

A spokesperson for the Times told Politico that the company's employment practices are "merit based." 

“Throughout this process, the EEOC deviated from standard practices in highly unusual ways. The allegation centers on a single personnel decision for one of over 100 deputy positions across the newsroom, yet the EEOC’s filing makes sweeping claims that ignore the facts to fit a predetermined narrative," the spokesperson said.