WASHINGTON — On his first day in office Monday, President Trump will issue an order defining a person's gender as “male or female” and requiring government agencies to use “immutable” designations on documents and identification documents. , will also order changes to policies governing federal prisons. transgender inmates.
“What we are doing today is to define that it is the policy of the United States to recognize two genders, male and female. “It's based on a reality that doesn't exist,” the incoming White House official told reporters.
The policies are included in an executive order, one of dozens that Trump, 78, plans to sign soon after taking office around noon.
The order bans changing the gender on U.S. passports (currently, holders can choose male, female, or “X”) and seeks to ban medical transition treatment for prisoners. Both new policies are likely to face litigation.
The order will require the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to “ensure that gender is accurately reflected on official government documents, including passports and visas,” the incoming official said. Ta.
Since 2010 (including during President Trump's first term), Americans have been able to change their passport gender by submitting an application with a doctor's approval.
However, outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken abolished doctor approval for passports in 2021 and added the gender mark “X” in 2022.
Meanwhile, prison policy will affect a population the ACLU estimates to be 1,200 federal inmates.
“We will add privacy to intimate spaces such as women’s prisons, women’s immigrant shelters, and rape shelters to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used for so-called transition services,” the next official said. spoke about President Trump's order.
It's unclear how the policy will affect transgender inmates currently in women's prisons.
Few transgender inmates receive sex reassignment surgery at taxpayers' dime. Texas inmate Donna Langan is believed to have undergone the first surgery in December 2022. reported on the 19th.
Transgender rights became a campaign issue ahead of last year's election, with President Trump vowing to eliminate participation in women's sports by people born male.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, the outgoing vice president, faces revelations about her past pledge to support taxpayer-funded gender transitions for undocumented immigrants in federal custody. , which received negative press coverage and drew lamentations from allies.
Harris defended herself by saying it was the law to do so and Trump needed to follow the same guidelines.
