The timing of the order coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and is the latest in a string of executive actions from the Republican president aimed at transgender people. Trump found during the campaign that the topic resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far. The order offers some clarity. For example, it authorizes the Education Department to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing noncompliance with Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools.
Any school found in violation could potentially be ineligible for federal funding. We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject.
The IOC has essentially passed the buck on transgender participation, deferring to the international federations for each sport. Former track star Sebastian Coe , now the leader of World Athletics, is among the candidates up for election in March. Coe has been a strong proponent of limiting participation in female sports to cisgender women.
The United State Olympic and Paralympic Committee and organizers for the Olympics did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The order is the latest of a series of moves by the Trump administration targeting transgender people. Previous ones have sought to have the federal government reject the idea that people can transition to a gender other than the one assigned at birth. That has implications for areas including passports and prisons.
