On November 6, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order allowing the Trump administration to re-implement a sane and honest passport policy. That policy prevents “transgender” persons—and everyone else—from obtaining U.S. passports with gender markers that do not match their biological sex.
Earlier this year, the State Department issued a policy stating that only two sexes would be recognized on U.S. passports. Furthermore, the policy said that the sex marker on a passport must be based on the sex set forth on a person’s birth certificate. Previously, under the Biden administration, the sex marker on the passport of a “transgender” person could be changed whether or not that person had undergone so-called “sex reassignment surgery.” In addition, the Biden administration had “allowed non-binary people to choose an X gender marker” on their respective passports.
The Trump administration’s establishment of this perfectly reasonable policy gave rise to a lawsuit filed on behalf of persons identifying themselves as “transgender” and “non-binary.” A U.S. district court in Massachusetts ruled against the government, issuing a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of the Trump administration policy. After an appellate court refused to stay the district court’s injunction while the case made its way through the courts, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
In Trump v. Orr, the Supreme Court ruled that the government was likely to succeed on the merits of its case, reversed the lower court’s decision, and stayed the enforcement of the lower court’s injunction. The Court’s three liberal justices—Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented.
New York Families applauds this temporary victory in Trump v. Orr. There is no reason for the Department of State to issue passports with false and misleading gender markers simply to accommodate the delusion that a person can change his or her sex. The federal government should be honest with the people of the United States and with the people from other nations who may see U.S. passports. Furthermore, the Trump administration should not have to be bogged down in months’ worth of legal battles before it can implement a rational and reasonable policy like this one. It is hoped that the government will prevail on the merits of this case.
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com/2167781115 (Ketanof)