President Donald Trump has signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, reinforcing his administration’s stance on sex-based athletic categories.
The order, signed Wednesday, mandates that federal funding be withheld from educational institutions that allow transgender women and girls to participate in female sports or use female locker rooms.
Additionally, it directs government agencies to advocate for sex-based female sports divisions in international organizations and to collaborate with major athletic governing bodies to establish policies that prioritize fairness and safety for female athletes.
“We are putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice: If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk losing federal funding,” Trump said, referencing the 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education.
Declaring an end to what he called the “war on women’s sports,” Trump asserted that his administration would not allow “men to beat and batter female athletes.” He added, “We’re not going to let it happen. It’s ending right now, and nobody can do a damn thing about it—because when I speak, we speak with authority.”
Trump also announced plans to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to formally adopt sex-based participation rules before the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We want them to change everything related to the Olympics and this absolutely ridiculous subject,” he said.
