U.S. 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.
Advocates condemn move
The 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.
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.
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 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.
Since Trump took office, the department has opened an inquiry into Denver, Colorado, public schools over an all-gender bathroom that replaced a girls' bathroom, while leaving another one exclusive to boys.
Trump also issued a warning to the International Olympic Committee ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president said he had empowered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make it clear to the IOC that "America categorically rejects transgender lunacy. We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject."
The IOC has deferred to the international federations for each sport.
That could change, however, when a new IOC president comes on to replace the retiring Thomas Bach. Former track star Sebastian Coe, now the leader of World Athletics, is among the candidates up for election in March. Coe has been a strong proponent of limiting participation in female sports to cisgender women.
Trump also said that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will "deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the Games."
Organizers for the 2028 Olympics did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Other actions focus on gender
The order is the latest of a series of moves by the Trump administration targeting transgender people.
Previous ones have sought to have the federal government reject the idea that people can transition to a gender other than the one assigned at birth. That has implications for areas including passports and prisons.
Trump also has opened the door to barring transgender service members from the military; called to end federal health insurance and other funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people younger than 19; and restrict the way lessons on gender can be taught in schools.
Pushback on some of the administration's initiatives has begun in court. Transgender people have sued over several of the policies, and more lawsuits 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.
There could be similar questions for this order, for instance: Can the president demand that the NCAA change its policies?
NCAA President Charlie Baker said its Board of Governors was reviewing the order and "will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration." Baker, who said last year he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender, noted the order at least provides a uniform policy instead of a patchwork of state laws.
