Trump asks Supreme Court to allow enforcement of transgender passport policy

The Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow the government to enforce a passport policy for transgender and nonbinary people that requires male or female sex designations based on birth certificates. The policy, issued after an executive order in January declaring that the United States would recognize two sexes, male and female, based on what the administration described as an immutable biological classification, would limit the use of markers that align with a person’s gender identity in many cases.

Jurists have blocked the policy in June; a federal judge blocked enforcement after a lawsuit by transgender and nonbinary people, and an appeals court left the injunction in place. The department asked the Supreme Court to put that order on hold while the suit proceeds, seeking to maintain the policy’s effect during the litigation.

Under the policy, as implemented by the State Department, passport applicants would be issued with a male or female marker tied to the birth certificate rather than to a person’s gender identity. The administration argues that the Constitution does not prohibit defining sex in biological terms and cites the Court’s recent ruling upholding a ban on transition-related health care for transgender minors to support the position that sex can be defined biologically for official documents.

The move comes as litigation over the policy remains unresolved. Plaintiffs allege the rule is discriminatory and violates the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans. Jon Davidson, senior counsel for the LGBTQ & HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the policy constitutes a broader effort to restrict transgender people’s rights and that the organization remains committed to defending those rights in court. "This administration has taken escalating steps to limit transgender people’s health care, speech, and other rights under the Constitution, and we are committed to defending those rights," Davidson said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly used emergency appeals to push back against injunctions in high-profile cases, with several cases resulting in temporary or partial victories for the government. The policy is part of a broader pattern of actions in federal courts involving transgender rights, including prior battles over military service eligibility. Observers note that the current petition to the Supreme Court adds to a crowded docket of disputes testing how the federal government can define and apply sex-based classifications in official documentation.

If the Supreme Court accepts the government’s request, it would not decide the merits of the policy but could pause the injunction, allowing the birth-based designations to remain in effect while the case proceeds. A ruling could have implications for other federal programs and for how similar classifications are treated in other government-issued documents, inviting broader questions about the scope of executive orders and statutory authority in areas touching on civil rights and identity.

The case underscores a continuing fight over transgender rights in the United States, a central issue in current U.S. politics as federal agencies navigate competing interpretations of constitutional protections and statutory directives. The outcome could influence how courts balance governmental interests in administrative efficiency and identity-based protections for a growing population seeking recognition in official records.