President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that bans transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, 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.
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 coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and the order is the latest in a string of executive actions from Trump aimed at transgender people.
Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to “keep men out of women’s sports” 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 the “transgender insanity,” although 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.
NCAA president Charlie Baker on Wednesday issued a statement saying the executive order “provides a clear, national standard.” The NCAA has struggled to comply with varying state laws on this issue and threats of lawsuits.
“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” Baker said in the statement. “To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.
“The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy.”
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 to AP on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Already since Trump took office, the department has opened an inquiry into Denver 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 essentially passed the buck on transgender participation, deferring 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, 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 Director 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.”
The United State Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizers for the 2028 Olympics did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The move is the latest by the Trump administration to limit the rights of the transgender population.
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. He also has opened the door to barring transgender service members from the military and has called to end federal health insurance and other funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and to restrict the way lessons on gender can be taught in schools.
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.
Said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus: “The White House has made it clear: They’re happy to endanger the safety and well-being of all kids in order to continue their attacks against trans kids.”
Transgender people have already sued over several of the policies and are likely to challenge more of them in court.
“This was never about trans athletics, science or ‘fairness.’ It has always been about oppression,” said Sadie Schreiner, a transgender woman competing in track and field at Rochester Institute of Technology. “They’ll attack me all the same whether I’m on or off the track, so the only way I’ll stop competing is in handcuffs.”
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.
The order came a day after three former teammates of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas filed a lawsuit accusing the NCAA, the Ivy League, Harvard and their own school, Penn, of conspiring to allow Thomas to compete at conference and national championships.
The lawsuit, which makes similar allegations to one filed last year by Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and others, alleges the defendants violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to swim “and acted in bad faith.” Gaines joined Trump for the signing ceremony.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
