Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Wednesday banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, senior administration officials said.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” will direct federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to interpret Title IX protections as prohibiting transgender women from participating in female sports categories, according to a White House document obtained by ABC News.
It mandates immediate enforcement, including actions against schools and athletic organizations that allow trans women in female sports, and urges state attorneys general to enforce compliance.
“We want to take actions to affirmatively protect women’s sports,” said May Mailman, deputy assistant to the president and senior policy strategist. She added the order will roll back Biden-era policies that require schools to recognize gender identity as equivalent to sex.
The White House expects organizations like the NCAA to adjust their policies accordingly.
“We’re a national governing body and we follow federal law,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told Republican senators in December. “Clarity on this issue at the federal level would be very helpful.” Baker previously clarified less than 10 transgender athletes compete in college sports.
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign argue these policies don’t address real problems and are merely political ploys that exploit already marginalized children.
“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,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a release. “Participating in sports is about learning the values of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. We should want that for all kids – not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”
The order also calls for private sporting bodies to attend an in-person White House meeting where female athletes will share their experiences. Additionally, it directs the State Department to convince the International Olympic Committee to uphold single-sex competitions and instructs Homeland Security to review visa rules to prevent transgender women listed as female on documents from competing in women’s sports.
Trump is expected to sign the executive order at a Wednesday ceremony attended by more than 60 athletes, coaches, and advocates, including former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, according to The Daily Wire.
