Jessica Perez-Salinas, Writer

During the 2024 election, Delaware voted Sarah McBride into Congress, making her the first openly transgender congressperson . Later that month, legislation was introduced that banned trans women from using bathrooms and other similar facilities that did not align with their biological sex. This was not a coincidence, and McBride was cited as the main reason for this change. Trans rights have been and continue to be threatened. Current challenges include cutting federal funding for gender-affirming care, eliminating gender options on federal IDs and removing federal protections for transgender individuals.

Although only composing around 1.6% of the U.S. population, transgender and nonbinary individuals have become part of a highly contentious issue around “gender ideology.” Gender ideology is a term that conservative groups and President Donald Trump have defined as the idea that gender is not binary. Other groups including the American Medical Association have supported trans individuals and acknowledge the differences that arise when solely comparing biological sex. However, gender ideology has been seen as an intrusion on women’s spaces but also a threat to children. Within his first month in office, President Trump has issued an executive order that directly targeted “gender ideology” and trans rights. Government agencies have 30 days as of Jan. 20^h to address the demands in the executive order. 

One major change listed in the executive order is the administration’s decision to use only biological sex as sex markers. Federal agencies had allowed trans and nonbinary individuals to indicate their preferred gender, providing the option “x” on federal IDs. Now, federal agencies and IDs must only use either male or female and agencies cannot renew passports or federal documents unless it will align with biological sex. This has already begun to impact transgender individuals, with some reporting that federal agencies have refused to give back documents when they tried to request a name change and marked their gender as “x”. Documents included birth certificates, state IDs and other federally recognized identification. Furthermore, federal employees have been required to remove pronouns or any details that support “gender ideology” from their work profiles or email signature blocks. 

Trans medical rights will also see major pushback in the coming presidency. The issue of transgender healthcare has been highly debated even among democrats, with many people opposing healthcare for trans youth. A 2022 report by the Pew Research Center found that although over half of Americans support trans rights, fewer support federal funding being used for trans medical care. Much of that debate has focused on whether or not children should be receiving puberty blockers, gender-reassignment surgeries and more. 

Although the Biden administration had expanded on trans rights in healthcare, in 2024, Biden signed a bill that banned health coverage for trans medical treatments for the children of military families. In Trump’s executive order, he has banned any use of federal funding for gender affirming care for those below the age of 19. Many argue that this will have a significant impact on the mental health of trans youth and make it harder to transition after puberty. Furthermore, gender affirming care for trans youth is rare and has not presented significant challenges that require this degree of federal regulation.

In addition, Trump has furthered bans on gendered facilities impacting prisons. Trans individuals already belong to a vulnerable population and are at a higher risk of sexual violence by prisoner/staff and disease while in prison. This could be exacerbated if they are forced to be in prisons that do not match their preferred gender. The executive order requires that individuals must stop receiving any gender affirming care while in prison and that inmates must be moved to a prison that aligns with the biological sex.

Finally, trans military personnel are banned from openly serving as transgender, as well as from receiving gender-affirming care. Trump argued that trans individuals and their beliefs do not align with the values and rigorous requirements that are needed to serve in the military. He also argued that providing gender affirming care would cost the U.S. too much money, although it is a very small portion, especially when compared to other forms of health service provided.  

Although these executive orders are just beginning and many are expected to be challenged in court, this presents a dangerous landscape for trans individuals and LGBTQ+ rights in the following years.