President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports and committed to “rescind(ing) all funds” from educational programs that do not comply.
The order calls on the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to review grants to educational programs and withdraw funding from institutions violating the order and Title IX.
Trump directed the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to meet with representatives of major athletic organizations to promote policies “in the best interests of female athletes” and convene state attorneys general to review practices for enforcement of the order within 60 days.
“The policy of the United States (is) to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth,” Trump said in the executive order.
The order reiterated language from a Jan. 20 directive declaring the policy of the United States to recognize “two sexes, male and female,” and prohibiting federal funds used to “promote gender ideology.”
The Biden administration expanded Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs, in August to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A federal judge overturned this directive before Biden left office in January.
Under Texas Senate Bill 15, passed in 2023, restrictions on transgender athlete participation in K-12 schools extended to public universities and colleges in the state.
“President Trump’s executive order prohibiting biological men from competing in women’s sports will safeguard the integrity of women’s sports, and I am proud to have joined the president at the White House for this historic signing,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release. “Female athletes across the nation can be assured that fairness will be protected.”
The NCAA revised its policy on transgender athlete participation in 2022. It now requires athletes to provide documentation of their testosterone levels and to defer eligibility criteria to individual sports organizations. The change reversed a 12-year policy that allowed transgender athletes to participate in teams corresponding to their affirmed gender.
There is currently no guidance for transgender athlete participation in the Texas Athletics student athlete resource guide or code of conduct.
