Washington, D.C. – In a sharply divided 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end a 33-year policy allowing transgender and nonbinary Americans to select gender markers on passports that align with their identity, rather than their sex assigned at birth. The unsigned ruling from the conservative majority lifts a lower court injunction, enabling immediate enforcement of the policy while litigation continues.
The case, Trump v. Orr, challenged a January 2025 State Department directive reverting to pre-1992 standards: Passports will now require a male or female marker based on biological sex, verified by birth certificates or medical records. This reverses a 2021 Biden-era rule that introduced an “X” option for nonbinary individuals and eased self-selection without documentation. A Massachusetts federal judge blocked the change in June, citing irreparable harm to transgender applicants facing harassment abroad. The high court’s interim order, however, deems the policy a neutral “historical fact” akin to listing a birthplace, rejecting equal protection claims.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented sharply, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. “The government is inflicting harm on the most vulnerable,” Jackson wrote, arguing the policy forces transgender people to misrepresent themselves, exposing them to discrimination and violence. The majority countered that foreign policy interests outweigh individual burdens, allowing the administration to proceed.
Trump hailed the victory as “common sense triumph,” tying it to his broader rollback of “woke gender ideology.” The policy affects thousands seeking renewals, with advocates like the ACLU decrying it as “state-sanctioned erasure.” As midterms ballots drop and deportations hit 2.1 million, the ruling amplifies tensions in a nation divided on identity. For transgender Americans, it’s a personal setback; for the administration, a policy win. In the passport’s pages, lines are drawn—biological, unyielding.
