The Supreme Court has handed Donald Trump a major policy win, clearing the way for passports to list only sex assigned at birth and stripping away the X gender marker, a move critics say puts transgender and nonbinary Americans at risk at home and abroad.
The United States Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to enforce its rule requiring all new passports to display an individual’s biological sex at birth. The conservative majority temporarily froze a lower court ruling in Massachusetts that had blocked the policy from taking effect, allowing the administration to move forward while legal challenges continue. The court stated that showing a passport holder’s sex at birth does not violate equal protection principles, comparing it to displaying a person’s country of birth. This decision marks another major victory for President Trump, whose administration has been systematically reversing policies introduced under President Biden that expanded rights for transgender and nonbinary Americans.
The court’s order means that, for now, individuals will no longer be able to select their own gender identity on new or renewed passports. The policy eliminates the third option of X that had been introduced under the Biden administration to accommodate nonbinary people. The justices wrote that the new rule merely reflects a historical fact without imposing unequal treatment, suggesting that the court may ultimately uphold it when the full case is heard. The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sharply criticising the decision and accusing the court of allowing unnecessary harm through what she described as a failure to pursue a fair and equitable outcome.
The plaintiffs in the case include several transgender and nonbinary individuals who argue that the rule exposes them to discrimination and potential violence when travelling. Activists and advocates say the policy represents a broader rollback of civil rights protections under the current administration, which has also moved to restrict transgender participation in the military and limit healthcare access for transgender minors. Trump officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, praised the ruling as a victory for what they called “common sense.” The court’s decision highlights how sharply divided the United States remains on issues of gender identity, equality and government recognition of personal identity.
