Trump bans transgender athletes
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said at a signing ceremony in the East Room that included lawmakers and female athletes who have come out in support of a ban, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order “upholds the promise of Title IX” and will require “immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations” that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.
The timing of the order coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and is the latest in a string of executive actions from the Republican president aimed at transgender people.
‘No threats to sports’
The latest order was condemned by trans-rights advocates, including the National Women’s Law Center and GLAAD.
“Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.
Pushback on some of the administration’s initiatives has already begun in court.
Transgender people have sued over several of the policies and more are likely to come.
Civil rights lawyers handling the cases have asserted that in some instances, Trump’s orders violate laws adopted by Congress and protections in the Constitution—and that they overstep the authority of the president.
‘Transgender insanity’
Trump found during the campaign that the topic 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 “transgender insanity,” though his campaign offered little in the way of details.
The order offers some clarity. For example, it authorizes the Education Department to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing noncompliance with Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools.
Any school found in violation could potentially be ineligible for federal funding.
Enforcing Trump’s orders will be a priority of the embattled department.
In a call this week, the acting director of the Office for Civil Rights told staff they would need to align their investigations with Trump’s priorities, according to people who were on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to AP for fear of reprisals.
