Trump to sign executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday prohibiting transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The measure, according to the White House press schedule, is called the “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order.”

The timing does not appear to be coincidental: Wednesday is the 39th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which was started in 1987 as a way to celebrate female athletes and inspire girls to participate in sports. 

The issue of transgender women participating in women’s sports was a consistent and divisive topic leading up to the November elections. On the campaign trail — and even after he won the election — Trump referred to trans women as men and pledged to “keep men out of women’s sports.” 

The specifics of the transgender sports order are not yet public, but the order will likely involve how the Trump administration interprets Title IX, a civil rights law that prevents sex-based discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal funding. 

A Gallup survey of U.S. adults conducted in May 2023 found that nearly 70% of respondents said trans athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that correspond with their birth sex, up from 62% in 2021. Twenty-seven states already have laws, regulations or policies in place banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.

Two outspoken opponents of transgender women in women’s spaces — Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and former college swimmer Riley Gaines — announced on social media that they would be at the signing. 

“No amount of activism, corporate pressure, or lies can erase reality—men are biologically different from women,” Mace wrote on X. “This executive order restores fairness, upholds Title IX’s original intent, and defends the rights of female athletes who have worked their whole lives to compete at the highest levels.”

Gaines shared a photo on X of what appears to be an invitation to attend the signing and wrote, “Things could’ve been so different. Gender insanity was the final straw that brought a lot of moderates to the side of common sense. Specifically, I believe it was the issue of men in women’s sports. I’ve been living in a state of gratitude everyday since Nov 5th. Praise God.”

Ahead of the order being signed and publicly released, the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, issued a statement warning of the consequences of a “blanket ban” on trans women and girls participating in female sports. 

“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,” HRC President Kelley Robinson stated. “Participating in sports is about learning the values of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. And for so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong. We should want that for all kids — not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”

Trump has already signed three executive orders since taking office that directly target transgender people. On Inauguration Day, he signed an order proclaiming the government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and that “these sexes are not changeable.” He also signed orders barring transgender people from serving openly in the military and restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans people younger than 19 nationwide.