The order contributed to the ongoing Lavender scare of the mid-1950s, barring thousands of lesbian and gay applicants from government jobs.

Previously, the criteria used to define a security risk were largely political, that is, affiliation with suspect organizations or a clear demonstration of disloyalty.

Its language was broad: "Any criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct, habitual use of intoxicants to excess, drug addiction, or sexual perversion."

The purpose of the committee was "to count the number of homosexuals in these departments" and discuss the merits of their inclusion in them[10] Notably, they did not talk to any LGBTQ+ people or groups.

"[10] The report concluded that gay people should not be allowed in government work because of their susceptibility to seduction and communism making them a security risk.

[11] According to scholars, since at least as early as 1960, Executive Order 10450 was also applied to ban transgender individuals from serving in the United States military.

In this case of a food and drug inspector for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare who had been dismissed for his association with radicals, the Court faulted the executive order for its failure to define "national security" and for other ambiguities.

[17] The order's language restricting national security access based on sexual orientation was also repealed in 1995 when President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12968, which stated that "The United States Government does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation in granting access to classified information."