US President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order banning trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. Signed on Wednesday, February 5, the order is the latest in a series of measures aimed at rolling back the rights of trans Americans.

Titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’, the executive order signed by Trump mandates immediate enforcement to federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to interpret Title IX rules as prohibiting trans women and girls from participating in sports in the female category. It also threatens to cut off federal funding for any school that allows trans women or girls to compete in female sporting competitions.

Moreover, with this order, Trump directed the Department of Justice to prosecute schools that allow trans athletes to participate in female sports programmes and mandated representatives of major athletic organisations and governing bodies to change their guidelines to reflect the order.

Delivering a 30-minute speech ahead of signing the order, the US President said: “In a few moments, I’ll sign a historic executive order to ban men from competing in women’s sports. It’s about time.

“Under the Trump administration, we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure, and cheat our women and our girls.”

He went on to falsely claim that trans athletes have won “more than 3,500 victories” and “invaded more than 11,000 competitions”. He then cited “a male boxer stole the women’s gold medal” at the Paris Olympics after supposedly “brutalizing his female opponent so viciously that she had to forfeit”, referencing boxer Imane Khelif, who is a cisgender woman.

Trump also announced plans to ban trans athletes from around the world from competing in female sports categories at the 2028 Summer Olympics, which are set to take place in Los Angeles, by denying them visas.

Banning trans athletes from women’s sports has become a central topic in Republican rhetoric, despite the fact that they account for a very small portion of athletes. President of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Charlie Baker, recently testified before the Senate, saying that he knew of fewer than 10 transgender athletes currently competing in college sports. Since the NCAA oversees over 510,000 student-athletes, this means that trans athletes make up an incredibly small fraction of all sports participants in colleges.

The ban is the latest in a series of attacks against trans rights that Trump has launched since returning to the White House in January. The Trump administration is also attempting to eliminate the federal recognition of transgender and non-binary identities, end accommodations for transgender students, reinstate a ban on transgender service members in the military, and require government-issued IDs to reflect sex assigned at birth.

Speaking to Sky News, Olivia Hunt, from Advocates for Trans Equality, said: “For the past two weeks the trans community across the United States has seen unending attacks from this administration on all aspects of our rights and daily lives.

“And seeing this attack, like the others, knowing it’s going to be very long on hostile rhetoric and inflammatory language and very short on clear, actionable policies, it’s always very concerning… especially when it’s targeted at a relatively small and already marginalized community across the country.”

Several protests are taking place in the US, with people showing up in solidarity with the trans community. Cynthia Nixon took part in a recent protest outside NYU Langone Hospital following Trump’s executive order banning gender-affirming healthcare for under 19s.

Delivering a speech during the protest, the actor said: “I’m here as a lifelong New Yorker. But most importantly, I am here today as the mother of a proud trans man, as the aunt of a proud trans man.

“My best friend’s kid is trans, and my kid’s best friend is trans. Our lives are filled with the most amazing, beautiful, brave trans people,” Nixon continued.

“I am here today as a mother, of a proud trans man” – #CynthiaNixon speaks at Pro-Trans Children Protest in NYC as hundreds gather at a park near NYU Langone. pic.twitter.com/Qt2yZ68cVd

— LGBTQ Nation (@lgbtqnation) February 4, 2025

“My trans kid had his top surgery at NYU, and the idea that this city is filled with young people who thought they had a place to go where they could receive the highest care, and that place has now been shut to them, sickens me.”

Nixon added, “The last two weeks have been an assault, a barrage, so many horrific things coming at us from every direction. Nothing has made me feel so good as coming around the corner today and seeing you all standing here fighting for trans rights.”