Trump's two-gender order would upend 'X' status on passports

The federal government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, according to an executive order that President Donald Trump is slated to sign soon.

The ruling would overturn the Biden administration's efforts to expand gender identity markers, including on passports.

“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” Trump said during his inaugural address Monday, taking an early step to fulfill one of his culture war campaign promises.

The order, a Trump administration official told reporters Monday, is aimed at “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truths to the federal government.” Male and female “are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” the official said.

The federal government would also shift from using the term “gender” to “sex,” and that sex would be “an individual’s immutable biological classification,” the official said.

All government authorities, including passports and visas, will guarantee that official documents "reflect sex accurately," according to the source. In addition, departments in charge of federal prisons, migrant shelters, rape shelters, and other "intimate spaces" would be required to safeguard single-sex rooms for privacy. Employee data, as well as communications from government departments, would abide to the executive order.

Trump's executive order would undermine efforts by the Biden administration to be more tolerant of Americans' gender identities.

As of 2022, US citizens can pick "X" as their gender marker on passports. According to the State Department, one's marker does not have to match the gender on citizenship documents or picture ID, and no medical paperwork is required to change one's gender.