Executive Orders of President Trump: Revocation of Gender-Neutral Passports Initiates National Discussion
President Donald Trump has issued an unprecedented 200 executive orders since returning to the White House earlier this week, with the goal of changing federal rules on a wide range of topics. The order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” is one of the most contentious of these. For non-binary people, especially those who benefited from the choice to choose a “X” gender marking on their passports—a provision implemented under the Biden administration—this decision has important ramifications. The executive order has sparked intense nationwide debate among civil rights organizations, legal experts, and LGBTQ+ campaigners.
Redefining Gender in Federal Documents: The Executive Order
The executive order issued by President Trump radically changes how the federal government views gender identity. Only “male” and “female,” which are based on the biological sex assigned at birth, are recognized as legitimate categories under the directive’s stringent binary definition of gender. All government documents, such as birth certificates, passports, and other types of identity, fall within this term. People who choose the “X” gender marker—a neutral choice that accepts non-binary, genderqueer, and other gender-diverse identities—are expressly prohibited from doing so by the order.
Principal Elements of the Executive Order:
Non-Binary Gender Markers Are Suspended: Any passport application demanding a change in the sex marker or attempting to add a “X” gender marker will be suspended indefinitely as of right now. Passports that have already been issued with a “X” marker will continue to be valid for the time being, although this suspension is applicable to both present and future applicants. Under the new policy, these passports’ renewals or updates will be closely examined and may be denied.
Enforcement and Policy Scope: The decree supersedes earlier regulations that acknowledged a range of gender identities and requires all federal agencies to follow the binary gender classification. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Department of State officials have been instructed to make sure that “sex, and not gender, must be
Advocates of the Policy: Advocates contend that the action brings uniformity and clarity back to federal documentation systems. They argue that limiting classification to male and female only clears up misunderstandings and preserves the accuracy of official documents.
Administrative Efficiency: Proponents assert that a binary classification system makes government operations easier and more direct, lowering the complexity of handling and processing a range of gender identities.
Preservation of Traditional Values: With a focus on biological determinism rather than gender as a social construct, advocates frequently portray the policy change as a return to traditional values. They contend that this strategy protects what they consider to be objective fact and keeps the government from getting involved in what they consider to be gender-related ideological arguments.