US President Donald Trump holds up the No Men in Women's Sports Executive Order after signing it in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2025. President Trump on Wednesday is signing an executive order to ban transgender girls and women from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity, marking his latest move targeting transgender rights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, declaring, “Women’s sports will be only for women.” Surrounded by female athletes and children at the White House, Trump said the move ends the “war on women’s sports.”
The order allows government agencies to withhold funding from schools that permit transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams. Trump also pledged to pressure the International Olympic Committee to revise its rules before the 2028 Los Angeles Games and ordered Homeland Security to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to enter the U.S. for competition.
This is the latest in a series of executive actions targeting transgender rights since Trump’s return to office. He has already restricted transgender military service, banned gender transition procedures for minors, and mandated a strict male-female gender classification in government policy.
The issue has been central to Trump’s political messaging, with Republicans rallying around the protection of women’s sports as part of a broader culture war on gender identity.
