Trump's 'Two Sexes' Policy Is Already Disrupting The Lives of Transgender Americans

The executive order, which requires federal documents to reflect sex assigned at birth, has sparked concern among trans Americans.

LGBTQ+ advocates expect President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring there are only “two sexes, male and female,” to have sweeping effects across federal agencies and on the lives of transgender people.

Within hours of taking office, Trump signed a broad order urging federal agencies to revoke policies issued under Joe Biden that made it easier for trans people to update the gender marker on passports and other federal documents. It directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to require “government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”

The Trump administration defines sex by the reproductive cells a person will produce upon reaching adulthood. This narrow definition, which ignores how biology experts understand sex, mirrors definitions used in state-level legislation that has barred transgender people from updating driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and state IDs.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NOTUS on Tuesday that the order will not impact passports that were issued prior to Trump taking office.

But Leavitt said passports issued in the future, including those being renewed, will show the gender marker that reflects a person’s sex assigned at birth.