Trump Administration Seeks Supreme Court Approval to Enforce Birth-Sex Passport Policy Affecting Transgender Individuals

The Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow enforcement of its policy requiring passports to reflect an individual's biological sex at birth, effectively ending the use of the "X" gender marker for transgender and nonbinary people. This policy reverses the Biden administration's approach, which permitted applicants to select M, F, or X based on gender identity. The administration argues that passports are government documents representing official speech and that the president has constitutional authority over such designations, emphasizing "scientific reality" and national security concerns. Plaintiffs, supported by the ACLU, contend the policy is discriminatory and violates federal law by denying transgender and nonbinary individuals the right to have passports consistent with their gender identity. Lower courts have blocked the Trump administration's directive, citing unlawful sex discrimination, but the administration is seeking a Supreme Court stay to reinstate its policy during ongoing litigation. This legal battle highlights the broader partisan dispute over transgender rights and the balance between individual identity recognition and government policy.