The Trump administration has been mired in controversy since before his inauguration. Specifically, the anti-trans rhetoric which has become a core part of the GOP’s messaging and strategy. In a closing statement before his victory in the Presidential Election of 2024, he made an appeal to his voters, vowing to “get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools”.
Since then, despite trans people barely making up 0.5% of the US population, Trump has gotten to work at limiting the rights of the trans community. He has signed a barrage of executive orders and engaged in legal actions which place a number of restrictions on the trans population. The first of these was the declaration of there being only 2 genders. Afterward, they went for gender-affirming care, restricting it for only those at least 19 years old. However, there are very credible worries of Trump going all the way and outright banning gender-affirming care. They’ve also restricted medical journals on treating children with gender dysphoria and removed federal funds for medical institutions which do research into gender affirming care. This severely limits our knowledge on the trans condition and could lead to the erasure of decades worth of research.
In the military, the Trump administration has banned affirming care for trans service members in the military while also laying the groundwork for an eventual total ban of trans people from the military. Moreover, trans people are becoming increasingly alienated due to recent changes in passport rules. The gender category on US passports is no longer available, leaving many within the trans community without valid passports. This has wider implications as a valid passport is needed for travel to any country. Moving on, trans women are poised to be moved into men’s prisons. Despite trans women being much more likely to be victims of rape in men’s prisons, the Trump administration has claimed such actions to be for the safety of women prisoners. Finally, Trump most recently banned trans people from participating in sports.
Within only a month of gaining control of the presidency, Trump and his team have upended years of precedent and put the rights of over a million people in jeopardy. However, these actions have not been ignored. Numerous judges have blocked executive orders, declaring them as an overreach in federal authority and potentially unconstitutional. On top of this, many are suing the federal government in order to at least stall the process. Despite this, many within the trans community remain cynical, watching and waiting hopefully for a turning point in these distressing times.
