Trump targets transgender protections in new executive order
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President Trump at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 7. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
President Trump took the first step toward rolling back protections for transgender people on Monday, signing an executive order that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female.
Why it matters: Trump made attacks on transgender individuals a central focus of his 2024 campaign, and by issuing the executive order on his first day in office, signaled the importance of the issue in his second term.
- The executive order could have wide-reaching implications for gender-affirming care and recognition of trans people in a variety of spaces.
- It could also signal a first step toward banning transgender athletes from taking part in women's sports. The move would amount to "removing protections from some of our most vulnerable students," Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, told Axios ahead of the decision.
Driving the news: Trump's executive order states that only two sexes will be recognized by the federal government, "male and female."
- As such, only those two sexes will be recognized for official documents such as passports and visas.
- "'Sex' is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity,'" the order states.
- The executive order aims to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for gender-affirming care and to prevent transgender women from being held in women's prisons or detention centers.
State of play: An incoming White House official previewed the executive order on a call with reporters Monday ahead of Trump's inauguration, saying it was part of Trump's aim of "restoring sanity" in the U.S.
- The executive order is about "defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government," the official said.
Zoom out: Even before he took office, trans rights advocates vowed to fight Trump's rollback of trans rights.
- Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the biggest LGBTQ political lobbying group in the U.S., said in a statement the HRC refused to back down or be intimidated.
- "We are not going anywhere, and we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we've got," Robinson added.
- Ash Orr, a spokesperson for Advocates for Trans Equality, told AP the group would persevere and "continue in our work and we're going to continue to protect trans rights throughout the country."
State of play: Trump has repeatedly railed about trans athletes competing in women's and girls' sports while on the campaign trail.
- At a Fox News town hall in October, Trump said, "We're not going to let it happen ... we absolutely stop it. You can't have it," when asked about how he would handle "the transgender issue" in women's sports.
Zoom out: LGBTQ+ advocates long warned that the new Trump administration would attempt to undo the Biden administration's efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students under Title IX.
- Those efforts faced legal hurdles even before Trump re-entered office.
- In December, the Education Department withdrew a proposal to expand Title IX protections for trans student-athletes in the face of multiple lawsuit threats.
- In early January, a federal judge rejected rules to broaden the definition of sex discrimination under Title IX in order to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Go deeper: Trump closing out campaign cycle with anti-trans attacks
