President Donald Trump has sought to prohibit Americans from designating ‘X’ as their gender on passports.
A ruling by the US Supreme Court has temporarily allowed the requirement for the country’s passports to display the holder’s sex recorded at birth. This interim decision is being viewed as a success for US President Donald Trump’s efforts against what he labels “gender ideology extremism.”
The decision, issued on Thursday, states that “displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth,” and that the government is “merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment.”
This follows several months of lower-court proceedings, during which US District Judge Julia Kobick attempted to block the policy, arguing it was discriminatory and based on “irrational prejudice.” She blocked its nationwide enforcement in June. The US Court of Appeals in September declined to suspend her injunction. The Supreme Court’s stay now permits enforcement while the case continues.
The policy originates from an executive order Trump signed in January, titled ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’. It directs agencies, including the State Department, to mandate that identification documents reflect “sex,” defined as an immutable biological classification, and to eliminate the nonbinary “X” marker that was allowed under the previous administration.
Critics of this measure have argued that these restrictions expose transgender individuals to harassment and violence when their documents do not align with their gender identity.
The Trump administration, however, has stated that the change ensures federal documents “reflect biological truth” and prevents “inaccurate sex designations” on identification used for communication with foreign governments. Attorney General Pam Bondi has praised the Supreme Court ruling as a “victory for common sense,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called it “a huge win.”
The State Department had, since 1992, allowed sex designations to differ from sex assigned at birth with medical documentation, and in 2021, under former President Joe Biden, it introduced an “X” option. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s latest order temporarily halts that approach.