President Donald Trump took executive action to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, complying with the administration's interpretation of Title IX.

Under the “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports” order, federal agencies are directed to enforce Title IX by ensuring that federally funded entities define “sex” based on gender assigned at birth, following the Trump administration’s interpretation.

During the signing ceremony in the East Room, President Trump declared, “With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” while being joined by lawmakers and female athletes, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who have backed the ban.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the order “honors the promise of Title IX” and will lead to “immediate enforcement actions” against schools and athletic organizations that fail to uphold single-sex sports and locker rooms for women.

The order was issued on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, marking the latest in a series of executive actions by the Republican president addressing transgender policies. During his campaign, Trump found broad support for the issue, as more than half of AP VoteCast survey respondents felt that support for transgender rights had gone too far.

Before the election, he amplified this stance, pledging to put an end to what he called “transgender insanity,” though his campaign provided few specifics.

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The order directs clearer guidelines, granting the education department authority to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing Title IX violations, which prohibit sex-based discrimination in schools. Noncompliant institutions could risk losing federal funding.

Enforcing Trump’s directive will be a key focus for the embattled department. This week, the acting director of the Office for Civil Rights reportedly instructed staff to align their investigations with Trump’s priorities, according to anonymous sources who spoke to AP out of fear of retaliation.

With the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles approaching, Trump issued a strong warning to the International Olympic Committee. He announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been directed to inform the IOC that “America categorically rejects transgender lunacy,” emphasizing, “We want them to change everything related to the Olympics concerning this absolutely ridiculous issue.”

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