Since returning to office in January 2025, the Trump administration has focused on a policy doctrine of quote/unquote “biological truth,” aimed at reversing gender-identity-based protections and establishing a strict federal definition of sex as an immutable trait assigned at birth. On his first day, President Trump signed an executive order redefining “sex” across all federal agencies, effectively removing gender identity as a protected category.
He rescinded multiple Biden-era executive orders that had previously extended nondiscrimination protections in housing and healthcare. Furthermore, federal agencies were directed to purge “gender ideology” from official documents and prohibit federal funding for programs that promote it. The administration has aggressively restricted gender-affirming care, banning it for minors at the federal level and threatening to cut Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that continue the practice. New “conscience protections” also allow healthcare providers to opt out of treating LGBTQ+ patients based on religious or moral objections.
In education, the administration rescinded Title IX protections for transgender students, mandating that schools enforce the use of bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex. Additionally, an executive order was issued to prohibit individuals assigned male at birth from competing in female sports at any institution receiving federal funding. Trump’s 2025 record includes the reinstatement of the ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military. At the State Department, the “X” gender marker on passports was eliminated, and requirements for changing sex markers on federal IDs were made significantly more restrictive.
While these policies are a core part of the administration’s 2025 agenda, they remain subject to intense litigation. Several federal courts have issued temporary injunctions against the Title IX and healthcare mandates, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the federal biological sex definition later this year.
