The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration permission to implement a policy that prevents transgender and nonbinary individuals from selecting passport gender markers that correspond with their gender identity.
This ruling marks another victory for the Trump administration through the court’s emergency docket, allowing the policy to take effect while ongoing legal challenges are addressed.
The decision overturns a prior lower court mandate that required the federal government to permit individuals to choose male, female, or X gender markers on their passports, reflecting their gender identity for both new and renewed documents.
The administration contended that Congress delegated authority over passports to the president, a power intertwined with his responsibilities in foreign affairs.
“A system where individuals can opt not to disclose their sex or can change their identification based on personal identity presents significant challenges to accurate identification,” argued Sauer in legal filings.
Attorney General Pam Bondi welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, asserting that there are only two sexes, and vowed that Justice Department lawyers would continue to uphold what she termed a “simple truth.”
