
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes within the federal government, in what he described in his inauguration speech as a move to end efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life."
Both are major shifts in federal policy and align with Trump’s campaign promises.
One order declares that the federal government would recognise 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.”
Conservative groups such as the American Family Association are praising the change as one that acknowledges the truth. However, experts, including the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association, hold that gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting only of males and females.
Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims are to be segregated by sex as defined by the order.
Federal taxpayer money would also be prohibited from funding “transition services.” A small number of federal prison inmates have undergone 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 have put on hold a Biden administration rule that would have extended that nationally.
The order would also block requirements at government facilities and workplaces for transgender people to be referred to using the pronouns that align with their gender. Trump’s team argues that these requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.
The order does not issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can join, though many states have passed laws in those areas.
Civil rights groups are preparing to challenge Trump’s orders.
“We are not going anywhere,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “We will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we’ve got.”
Trump also revoked protections for transgender military personnel that former President Joe Biden had signed. There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender troops.
A separate order aims to halt federal agencies' DEI programmes. Conservatives have long condemned them, arguing that they violate the Constitution by using preferences based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. Trump received big cheers at a rally in Washington on Sunday when he said he would end DEI requirements in the military and schools. The order does not directly address what schools do, though.
Trump officials said it is fitting that the order is being delivered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as it aims to return to the idea that one day all Americans can be treated based on their character, rather than by the colour of their skin.
Trump referred to that in his inauguration speech on Monday, saying: “We will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true." He later added: “We will forge a society that is colourblind and merit-based.”
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said Trump’s policies are a step backward. “Dr. King had a dream, and this is his nightmare: the rollback of the work of our civil and human rights coalition over the past 75 years,” she said in a statement.
The purpose of the DEI plans was to foster equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalised communities. While researchers say that DEI initiatives date back to the 1960s, more were launched and expanded in 2020 amid increased calls for racial justice.
Businesses, including Walmart, McDonald’s, and Meta, have already rolled back their diversity policies since the 2024 election.