Trump to sign executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing

President Trump signs executive order preventing transgender women and girls from participating in female sports, sparking controversy.

U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday (February 5, 2025) designed to prevent people who were biologically assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.

The order, which Mr. Trump is expected to sign at an afternoon ceremony, marks another aggressive shift by the President’s second administration in the way the federal government deals with transgender people and their rights.

The President put out a sweeping order on his first day in office last month that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments.

Mr. Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to “keep men out of women’s sports” resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.

He leaned into the rhetoric before the election, pledging to get rid of the “transgender insanity,” though his campaign offered little in the way of details.

Wednesday (February 5, 2025)‘s order – which coincides with National Girls and Women in Sports Day – will involve how his administration will interpret Title IX, the law best known for its role in pursuing gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.

“This executive order restores fairness, upholds Title IX’s original intent, and defends the rights of female athletes who have worked their whole lives to compete at the highest levels,” said U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina.