The conservative right can breath a sigh of relief as the newly inaugurated 47th President of the United States Donald Trump took his place in the White House Oval Office today.
Among the many Presidential executive orders signed by him today will be the one which rolls back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government.
As part of his inauguration speech, he said: ”As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.
“This week I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colour blind and merit based.”
It’s a major shift for the federal policy and are in line with Trump’s campaign promises.
One order would declare that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female.
The definition will be based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm, rather than on their chromosomes. The change is being pitched as a way to protect women from “gender extremism.”
It’s a major shift for the federal policy and are in line with Trump’s campaign promises.
An official in his administration said it will mean the government will no longer recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, which fell on Easter in 2024.
Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims would be segregated by sex as defined by the order.
And federal taxpayer money could not be used to fund “transition services.” A small number of federal prison inmates have had gender-affirming surgery and more have had treatments such as hormone therapy paid for with federal funds.
Medicaid in some states covers such treatments, but judges put on hold a Biden administration rule that would have extended that nationally.
The order would also block requirements at government facilities and at workplaces that transgender people be referred to using the pronouns that align with their gender. Trump’s team says those requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.
The order does not appear to issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can join, though many states have passed laws on those areas.
Civil rights groups have been preparing to challenge Trump’s orders in court before he took office.
“We are gong to persevere, we’re going to continue in our work and we’re going to continue to protect trans rights throughout the country,” said Ash Orr, a spokesperson for Advocates for Trans Equality last week, anticipating such an order.
