For example, President Truman ordered the US military to be (re)integrated. Through malicious compliance, racist officers put their own spin on the orders.
"Well, he didn't say that black officers would get equal access to the officers club, so we won't let them in."
It too a former 5 star general (President Eisenhower) to stamp out the malicious compliance and make it stick.
There was already a case of malicious compliance with the DEI EO on the part of certain US air force personnel taking down material about the Tuskugee Airmen. The new sec def stomped that out within 4 hours.