“Only Two Genders”: Trump obliterates Biden’s gender identity policy

The newly inaugurated 57th president of the United States signed the first of 78 sweeping executive orders that reverse Biden-era policies in typical Trump style – not in the Oval Office as is tradition, but very publicly in the Capital One Arena, like at a World Wrestling Federation tournament, in front of the world’s cameras, surrounded by a sea of MAGA-capped fans.

First to get signed into instant law by president Donald Trump was the elimination of a 2021 law enacted by former president Joe Biden on the definition of ‘gender identity’. The renewed definition will be based on physical sex and eliminate any other definition. The executive order directs that government identification, such as passports and personnel records, reflect biological reality and not self-assessed gender identity.

‘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 on Monday in his inaugural address. The order will affect travellers from other nations too, as it means that government agencies, such as those at border controls, may not recognise ‘X’ on incoming passports in the place of ‘male’ or ‘female’ as some countries permit, such as in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Malta and The Netherlands.

Monday’s order also directs the incoming Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to bar self-defined transgender people from government-funded single-sex facilities, including prisons, migrant housing, and domestic violence shelters. 

Sweeping changes see Trump executive order pull US out of WHO

As he did during his first administration, Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organisation. He also ordered a comprehensive review of U.S. foreign aid spending. Both moves fit into his ‘America First’ approach to international affairs. He also ordered that the US pull out of the Paris Climate Treaty and ordered that troops be sent to the border with Mexico to guard against the illegal entry of foreign nationals.

Another of his executive orders calls for the halting of hiring new government staff, with the exception of military personnel, as well as a change in the law that would make it easier to dismiss public servants.