Judge blocks Trump admin's transgender passport policy
Share this @internewscast.com

President Donald Trump, right, talks with reporters as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens upon arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., on the way to Camp David, Md., Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Trump administration has been prohibited from implementing its proposed changes to sex marker designations on United States passports for many transgender individuals.

U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick of Massachusetts prevented the State Department from enforcing two modifications to its passport policy regarding sex markers. Transgender passport applicants were previously allowed to self-select male (M) or female (F) based on their gender identity or opt for a third option labeled “X.” However, under the new Trump administration, the State Department has mandated that passports reflect the person’s assigned sex at birth, and the “X” option was eliminated.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

The State Department and its secretary, Marco Rubio, acted in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump, in which he wrote, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” and demanded the executive branch “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality.”

In April, Kobick granted a preliminary injunction barring the State Department from implementing the passport policy for six people who joined the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit challenging the executive order. On Tuesday, the injunction was expanded to include people who do not have a valid passport, whose passport expires within one year, who need to make changes to their passport so that the “sex designation align[s] with their gender identity or to reflect a name change,” and whose passports were lost, damaged, or stolen.

The Trump administration had argued that the influx of new passport applications would hamper the State Department’s functioning.

Kobick, a Joe Biden appointee, found this argument to be too thin. She wrote the government “has not offered evidence of the number of additional applications from such individuals it anticipates receiving.” The judge noted the administration has not “identified any specific ways in which the burden associated with processing additional passport applications is likely to impede the State Department’s functioning.”

“That burden, consequently, is too ill-defined and speculative to shift the balance of the equities,” Kobick said.

The administration also argued that its inability to make the passport changes would negatively affect its standing with foreign countries.

But Kobick once more found there to be insufficient evidence to prove this claim. “[The government] has not identified any specific ways in which an injunction requiring the State Department to issue passports bearing sex designations with which it disagrees is likely to injure the Executive Branch’s relations with foreign sovereigns,” she wrote.

Finally, the administration maintained that it would suffer “constitutional harm” by having to print the sex markers.

Kobick, again, rejected this argument.

“Even assuming a preliminary injunction inflicts some constitutional harm on the Executive Branch, such harm is the consequence of the State Department’s adoption of a Passport Policy that likely violates the constitutional rights of thousands of Americans,” she wrote.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly derided the ruling as “yet another attempt by a rogue judge to thwart President Trump’s agenda and push radical gender ideology that defies biological truth,” in comments to CBS News.

“There are only two genders, there is no such thing as gender ‘X’, and the President was given a mandate by the American people to restore common sense to the federal government,” she added.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

District Attorney Reports 5-Month-Old’s Skull Fractured in Alleged Assault by Mother’s Boyfriend

Left inset: Glenn McIntosh (Franklin County Jail). Right inset: Ameira Reynolds (GoFundMe).…

Oregon Man Found Guilty in Fatal Stabbing of Mail Carrier

Left: Chad Westover (Clackamas County Sheriff”s Office). Right: Tristan Thomas (GoFundMe). Inset:…

Gainesville Drama: Woman Arrested for Car Burglary Amidst Street Brawl

Staff Article GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the early hours today, 21-year-old Ivette…

Shocking Crime: Man Assaults and Kidnaps Ex After Receiving Homemade Meal

Left inset: Christopher Collins. Right inset: Jesserae Beck (Lincoln Police Department). Background:…

Trio Faces Charges Following Burglary Incident in South-East Melbourne

Three men have been charged following a daring robbery involving stolen vehicles…

Levy County Incident: Gainesville Man Faces Arrest for Alleged Gun Threat

By Staff Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have detained William Leo King,…

Louvre Museum Shuts Doors Due to Unprecedented Robbery Incident

The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is closed for the day after…

Urgent Update: Discovery of Female Remains in Woods Intensifies Search Efforts for Missing Kada Scott

Authorities have reportedly uncovered human remains on Saturday during the ongoing investigation…

Tragic Incident: Sailor Fatally Shot While Attempting to Mediate Dispute Between Spouses

Left: Nildaliz Arline Flores-Roman (Norfolk police). Right: Katrina Anderson (Joshua Mortuary). A…

Tragic Discovery: Coroner Uncovers Disturbing Living Conditions of Woman with MS

Authorities in Pittsburgh found 44-year-old Elizabeth Fike dead living in filth in…