Trump signs executive order banning trans women from women’s sports

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports. The measure, called the “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order,” is the fourth executive order targeting transgender people the president has signed since taking office Jan. 20.

“The radical left has waged an all out campaign to erase the very concept of biological sex and replace it with a militant transgender ideology,” Trump said from a podium at the White House, with dozens of women and girls standing behind him. “With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over.”

Trump also gave multiple examples of what he described as “men claiming to be girls” and “stealing” victories, at one point perpetuating the false claim that Algerian female boxer Imane Khelif, who faced intense scrutiny over her gender at the Paris Olympics in August, was assigned male at birth.

In a call with reporters Wednesday morning, ahead of the signing, White House officials said they expect headlines about the executive order to use the word transgender, “but this has nothing to do with that.” The order, they said, aims to protect women’s access to safe and fair athletic opportunities, and it will do that in two ways.

First, officials said, the administration will roll back the Biden administration’s guidance on Title IX, a civil rights law that prevents sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. Under that guidance, schools were required to allow trans students’ to access school sports teams and sex-segregated facilities that align with their gender identities. Trump’s order will, instead, bar students assigned male at birth from participating in girls’ and women’s sports and using women’s restrooms. The Education Department will be tasked with investigating potential violations, and the administration “will be asking for investigations,” the officials said.

Second, officials said, the administration will work with sports governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, to ensure the guidance is followed in noneducational settings. The guidance, they added, will affect U.S. visa policies.

“If you are coming into the country and you are claiming that you are a woman, but you are a male here to compete against women, we’re going to be reviewing that for fraud,” one of the officials said.

The timing of the “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order” does not appear to be coincidental: Wednesday is the 39th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which was started in 1987 as a way to celebrate female athletes and inspire girls to participate in sports.

The issue of transgender women participating in women’s sports was a consistent and divisive topic leading up to the November elections. On the campaign trail — and even after he won the election — Trump referred to trans women as men and pledged to “keep men out of women’s sports.” 

A Gallup survey of U.S. adults conducted in May 2023 found that nearly 70% of respondents said trans athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that correspond with their birth sex, up from 62% in 2021. Twenty-seven states already have laws, regulations or policies in place banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.

Two outspoken opponents of transgender women in women’s spaces — Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and former college swimmer Riley Gaines — applauded the trans sports ban on social media Tuesday and attended the signing ceremony Wednesday.

“No amount of activism, corporate pressure, or lies can erase reality—men are biologically different from women,” Mace wrote on X Tuesday. “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.”

Gaines wrote on X: “Things could’ve been so different. Gender insanity was the final straw that brought a lot of moderates to the side of common sense. Specifically, I believe it was the issue of men in women’s sports. I’ve been living in a state of gratitude everyday since Nov 5th. Praise God.”

Ahead of the order being signed and publicly released, the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, issued a statement warning of the consequences of a “blanket ban” on trans women and girls participating in female sports. 

“This order could expose young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look,” HRC President Kelley Robinson stated. “Participating in sports is about learning the values of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. And for so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong. We should want that for all kids — not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”

Prior to Wednesday’s trans sports order, Trump signed three others that directly target transgender people. On Inauguration Day, he signed an order proclaiming the government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and that “these sexes are not changeable.” He also signed orders barring transgender people from serving openly in the military and restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans people younger than 19 nationwide.