Transgender athletes banned from participating in women's sports, Trump signs executive order

2025-02-06 07:57:04Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that aims to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies broad discretion to ensure that entities that receive federal funding comply with the ruling.

"With this executive order, the war on women in sports ends," President Trump said during a signing ceremony at the White House attended by female lawmakers and athletes who have spoken out against transgender participation in their sports, including former swimmer Riley Gaines.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said the order is consistent with federal law that prohibits discrimination based on gender in programs that receive federal funds. She said the order requires “immediate action, including enforcement action, against schools and athletic organizations” that do not respect women’s sports and their locker rooms.

The signing coincides with "National Girls and Women in Sports Day" and is among the Republican president's latest executive orders targeting transgender people.

During his campaign for the White House, Mr. Trump found that the issue cut across party lines. More than half of those polled by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society had crossed the line. Mr. Trump pledged during the campaign to eliminate what he called “transgender madness,” but he did not elaborate.

The executive order provides some clarity. It authorizes the Department of Education to penalize schools that allow transgender students to participate in women's sports, saying it violates federal law on gender discrimination in schools. Schools that violate the order could lose federal funding.

Enforcing the order will be a priority for the department. The acting director of the Office for Civil Rights told employees in a call last week that their investigations must align with Mr. Trump’s priorities, people on the call who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press.

After Mr. Trump arrived in the White House, the department opened an investigation into public schools in the city of Denver for the alienation of bathrooms for girls in bathrooms for all genders, while another was for boys only.

President Trump also issued a warning to the International Olympic Committee ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He said he had authorized Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make it clear to the Olympic committee that "America categorically rejects the transgender nonsense. We want them to change everything that has to do with the Olympics and that has to do with this ridiculous topic."

President Trump also said that Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem will "deny any visa applications fraudulently made by men attempting to enter the United States while identifying themselves as female athletes in an attempt to participate in the games."

There was no immediate comment from the organizers of the Olympic Games. Activists and organizations that defend transgender rights have filed lawsuits against the Republican president's recent decisions. Critics say the executive orders violate laws passed by Congress and exceed the president's authority./VOA


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