President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday designed to prevent biological males from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.

The order, which Trump is expected to sign at an afternoon ceremony, marks another shift by the president’s second administration in the way the federal government deals with transgender people and their rights.

The president put out an order on his first day in office last month that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that policy to be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments.

Mr. Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to “keep men out of women’s sports” resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.

He leaned into the rhetoric before the election, pledging to get rid of the “transgender insanity,” though his campaign offered little in the way of details.

Wednesday’s order — which coincides with National Girls and Women in Sports Day — will involve how his administration will interpret Title IX, the civil rights legislation best known for its role in pursuing gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.

“This executive order restores fairness, upholds Title IX’s original intent, and defends the rights of female athletes who have worked their whole lives to compete at the highest levels,” said Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina.

Every administration has the authority to issue its own interpretations of the landmark legislation. The last two presidential administrations — including Mr. Trump’s first — offer a glimpse at the push-pull involved.

The education secretary during Trump’s first term, Betsy DeVos, issued a Title IX policy in 2020 that narrowed the definition of sexual harassment, bolstered due process rights for students accused of wrongdoing, and required colleges to investigate claims only if they’re reported to certain officials.

The Biden administration rolled back that policy last April with one of its own that stipulated the rights of LGBTQ+ students would be protected by federal law and provided new safeguards for victims of campus sexual assault.

The policy stopped short of explicitly addressing transgender athletes. Still, more than a half-dozen Republican-led states immediately challenged the new rule in court.

“All Trump has to say is, ‘We are going to read the regulation traditionally,’” said a professor at Duke Law School, Doriane Lambelet Coleman.

How this order could affect the transgender athlete population — a number that is difficult to pin down — is uncertain.

Associated Press