President Trump Rescinds LGBTQ Protections From Previous Administrations
After being inaugurated for a second term on Monday, President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders, as he had indicated he would, including a directive outlining federal policies that reject gender identity as a determinant of legal rights and protections. The order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” professes to protect women from transgender, intersex, and non-binary people.
MMFA reporter Ari Drennen said, in a social media statement, ‘The Trump administration is going to pretend intersex people (1 in 500 births) simply don’t exist.”
The order asserts that federal agencies will recognize only two biological sexes, male and female, as “immutable categories” defined at conception. It directs the executive branch to enforce laws and policies based on these definitions and mandates changes in how federal agencies address issues such as identification documents, single-sex spaces, and grant funding.
Journalist Alejandra Caraballo stated in response on social media, “These executive orders on banning federally funded entities from recognizing trans people or disallowing them from using the bathroom are not self-executing or immediately enforceable. They require formal rule-making at a minimum. They are a scare tactic. Ignore and do not comply in advance.”
The executive order claims to defend women’s rights by rejecting what it terms “gender ideology,” described in the order as a concept that undermines biological sex with a “fluid and subjective sense of self.” The directive mandates the use of biological terms such as “male” and “female” in all federal government operations and documents, and it rescinds the use of “gender” as a synonym for sex.
Federal agencies are required to update forms, guidance, and programs to reflect these definitions within 120 days. Additionally, the order explicitly prohibits federal funding for policies or programs promoting gender identity.
Federal prisons, for instance, are instructed to house inmates according to their biological sex, and funding for gender-affirming medical care for incarcerated individuals is prohibited under the order, which would place trans and non-binary prisoners at grave risk.
The order repeals a range of guidance and executive actions implemented during the Biden administration, including measures that expanded protections for LGBTQ individuals under Title IX and other federal programs. It also dissolves the White House Gender Policy Council, established in 2021 to advance gender equity.
