BY: DM
Published 1 month ago
President Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQIA+ crusade has been blocked. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s policy that would have prohibited transgender and nonbinary individuals from updating the gender marker on their U.S. passports.
The policy, stemming from an executive order signed in January 2025, mandated that federal documents reflect only the sex assigned at birth. That meant no more “X” gender option and no more simple self-identification. Under Trump’s plan, the State Department had already started freezing passport applications that requested a gender change or the nonbinary “X” marker, reversing the more inclusive rules from the Biden era. However, a judge has since blocked the order.
A judge has blocked Trump’s anti-trans order.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick granted a preliminary injunction on April 18 in favor of six plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The plaintiffs argued that the policy violated their constitutional rights and the Administrative Procedure Act. Judge Kobick agreed, stating that the administration’s actions likely infringed upon equal protection guarantees and were rooted in “irrational prejudice” against transgender folks.
“The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote per AP. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”
The court’s decision mandates that the State Department process passport applications for the six plaintiffs in accordance with their gender identity while the case proceeds. The Trump administration has indicated plans to appeal the decision. In the meantime, transgender and nonbinary individuals seeking passport updates based on their gender identity may proceed with their applications under the current injunction.
Advocacy groups are firing back at the Trump administration.
This ruling is part of a series of legal challenges against the Trump administration’s policies affecting LGBTQIA+ rights. On March 18, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14183, which attempted to prohibit transgender people from serving in the military. Judge Reyes described the order as a violation of the constitutional rights of transgender people.
“The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes explained per AP. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”
Additionally, federal judges in New Hampshire and Maryland have blocked the Trump administration’s directives that threatened to withhold federal funding from schools maintaining DEI programs. The courts found that the administration’s guidance was vague, potentially violated First Amendment rights, and lacked clear legal authority. “Although the challenged documents place a particular emphasis on ‘certain DEI practices,’ they fail to provide an actionable definition of what constitutes ‘DEI’ or a ‘DEI’ practice,” wrote U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.
These rulings represent significant setbacks for the Trump administration’s policies targeting transgender rights and DEI initiatives. And while Trump seems determined to roll back the societal clock, advocacy groups are fighting back just as hard.
How can we keep the momentum going to protect trans and nonbinary rights? Comment below!
