01-30-2025

Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government

Executive OrderView the Original .pdf
View the Original .pdf

The 1-Minute Brief

What: Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," mandates that the U.S. federal government define "sex" as a person's biological classification at conception as either male or female. It directs all federal agencies to use this definition, revoking previous policies that recognized gender identity. The order requires that sex-segregated facilities and government-issued documents reflect biological sex and prohibits the use of federal funds to promote what it terms "gender ideology."

Money: The executive order itself does not appropriate new funds. However, it directs agencies to cease federal funding for any programs or grants that promote "gender ideology" and to end funding for medical procedures for inmates to conform their appearance to the opposite sex. The financial impact will depend on how many federal grants and programs are identified as promoting these concepts and have their funding revoked.

Your Impact: For transgender and non-binary individuals, this order will likely have a significant and direct impact by removing federal recognition of gender identity. This affects access to single-sex facilities like shelters and prisons, the gender markers on federal identification like passports, and may impact access to certain federally-funded services and healthcare. For other Americans, the direct impact is less immediate but contributes to a broader policy shift on how sex and gender are defined and recognized by the federal government.

Status: Issued by the President on January 20, 2025, and published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2025. As an executive order, it is in effect and directs federal agencies to begin implementation.

What's Actually in the Bill

Executive Order 14168 establishes an official, government-wide definition of sex based on biology. It directs all federal agencies to revise their policies, documents, and enforcement actions to conform to the principle that there are two unchangeable sexes, male and female, determined at conception. The order explicitly rejects the concept of "gender identity" as a basis for federal policy.

Core Provisions:

  • Defines "Sex": The order establishes a single definition of "sex" for all federal laws and policies as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female." It states "sex" is not a synonym for "gender identity."
  • Mandates Agency Compliance: Within 30 days, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue guidance on these definitions. All federal agencies are required to enforce laws based on these biological definitions and use the terms "sex," "male," and "female" instead of "gender" in official documents.
  • Identification Documents: The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management must change policies to ensure government-issued IDs (like passports) and employee records accurately reflect the holder's biological sex.
  • Ends "Gender Ideology" Promotion: Agencies must remove all policies and communications that promote "gender ideology" and are prohibited from using federal funds for such purposes. Agency forms requiring an individual's sex shall only list "male" or "female."
  • Reinterprets Bostock Decision: The Attorney General is directed to issue guidance to correct what the order calls the "misapplication" of the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County ruling, arguing it has been wrongly used to require gender identity-based access to single-sex spaces.
  • Single-Sex Spaces: Agencies are ordered to ensure that intimate spaces like prisons, detention centers, and federally-funded rape shelters are designated by biological sex, not gender identity. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is ordered to rescind its 2016 "Equal Access Rule" which allowed access based on gender identity.
  • Rescinds Prior Executive Orders: The order revokes several previous executive orders, including EO 13988 and EO 14075, which established protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation. It also dissolves the White House Gender Policy Council.

Stated Purpose (from the Sponsors):

The order states its purpose is to defend women's rights and safety, which it claims are being undermined by "ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex."

  1. To defend women from what the order calls "gender ideology extremism" by restoring biological definitions of sex to federal policy.
  2. To protect the dignity and safety of women in intimate single-sex spaces, such as domestic abuse shelters and workplace showers.
  3. To ensure federal policy is based on "truth," which the order identifies as the "incontrovertible reality" of two unchangeable sexes.

Key Facts:

Affected Sectors: Healthcare, Housing, Education, Federal Employment, Law Enforcement, and any organization receiving federal funding.
Timeline: The order took effect on January 20, 2025. Key deadlines include 30 days for HHS guidance and a proposed bill to codify the definitions, and 120 days for all agencies to report on implementation progress.
Scope: The order's provisions apply to all executive branch departments, agencies, and federal employees, as well as any entity that receives federal funds.

The Backstory: How We Got Here

Timeline of Events:

The Era of Expanding Protections (2010s-2022):

  • 2012: The Obama administration's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the Equal Access Rule, prohibiting discrimination in its housing programs based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • 2012: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that discrimination based on gender identity is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
  • 2016: HUD updated its Equal Access Rule to explicitly require that access to single-sex shelters and facilities be provided in accordance with an individual's gender identity.
  • June 15, 2020: The Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that firing an individual for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination "because of... sex."
  • January 20, 2021: On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13988, directing all federal agencies to implement the Bostock decision by interpreting prohibitions on sex discrimination to include discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This applied to housing, healthcare, education, and other federally regulated areas.
  • June 15, 2022: President Biden issued Executive Order 14075, which sought to further advance equality for LGBTQI+ individuals by addressing discriminatory state laws, conversion therapy, and health disparities.

Why Now? The Political Calculus:

  • Shift in Executive Power: The introduction of Executive Order 14168 on January 20, 2025, represents a fundamental reversal of the previous administration's policies. This change was a stated goal and reflects a different ideological approach to issues of sex and gender.
  • Cultural and Political Polarization: The debate over transgender rights, particularly concerning sports, bathrooms, and healthcare, has become a prominent and highly polarized issue in American politics. This executive order brings the federal government's official stance into alignment with one side of that debate.
  • Pushback Against Bostock Interpretation: The order is a direct response to the Biden administration's broad interpretation of the Bostock ruling. Supporters of EO 14168 argue that the Supreme Court's decision was specific to employment termination and was improperly expanded to other areas like access to single-sex spaces and school sports. The order aims to legally narrow that interpretation.

Your Real-World Impact

The Direct Answer: This directly affects transgender and non-binary Americans by altering their legal recognition and access to certain services, and it affects industries and organizations that receive federal funding.

What Could Change for You:

Potential Benefits:

  • For individuals who believe that single-sex spaces and programs should be based strictly on biological sex, this order reinforces that view at the federal level, which could lead to changes in facilities they use.
  • Supporters argue the order provides clarity and uniformity in federal law and protects the original intent of sex-based legal protections for women.

Possible Disruptions or Costs:

Short-term (First Year):

  • Transgender individuals may face immediate challenges in accessing federally-funded facilities consistent with their gender identity, such as homeless shelters.
  • Confusion and legal challenges are likely as federal agencies, states, and federally-funded organizations work to understand and implement the new mandates.
  • Individuals may face difficulties or denials when trying to update gender markers on federal documents like passports or social security records.

Long-term:

  • The order could permanently reshape federal anti-discrimination enforcement, removing protections for transgender individuals in housing, healthcare, and education that were established under previous executive orders.
  • Access to gender-affirming medical care could be restricted if it is deemed to be promoting "gender ideology" and loses federal funding or support.

Who's Most Affected:

Primary Groups: Transgender and non-binary people, who may lose access to previously recognized rights and protections. Federal employees and members of the military.
Secondary Groups: Federally-funded homeless shelters, hospitals, universities, and other service providers who will need to revise their policies to comply with the new federal mandate. Women's advocacy groups and civil rights organizations will also be heavily involved in the fallout.
Regional Impact: The impact may be more pronounced in states that have not enacted their own state-level protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, as those residents relied more heavily on federal guidance.

Bottom Line: This executive order changes the federal government's official definitions of sex and gender, rolling back protections for transgender individuals and impacting how federally-funded services are provided nationwide.

Where the Parties Stand

Republican Position: "Restoring Biological Truth"

Core Stance: The Republican party generally supports the executive order, viewing it as a necessary correction to overreach by the previous administration and a return to common-sense, biological reality.

Their Arguments:

  • ✓ The order protects the rights and safety of biological women in private spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and shelters.
  • ✓ It ensures fairness in women's sports by preventing biological males from competing against females.
  • ✓ It stops the use of taxpayer money to fund what they describe as divisive and unscientific "gender ideology."
  • ⚠️ Some may have reservations about the extent of federal power, but generally see this as a legitimate use of executive authority to enforce existing law as written.
  • ✗ They strongly oppose the previous administration's interpretation of Bostock and policies that allow access to facilities based on gender identity.

Legislative Strategy: The executive order itself directs the Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs to present proposed bill text to codify the definitions. The strategy will be to pass legislation that makes these definitions permanent law, insulating them from being overturned by a future president.

Democratic Position: "An Attack on Civil Rights"

Core Stance: The Democratic party strongly opposes the executive order, viewing it as a discriminatory and dangerous attack on the rights and safety of transgender and LGBTQ+ Americans.

Their Arguments:

  • ✓ They support the policies of the prior administration, including EO 13988 and EO 14075, which extended protections based on gender identity.
  • ✓ They believe the Bostock v. Clayton County decision affirms that discrimination against transgender people is a form of sex discrimination and should be applied broadly.
  • ✗ The order rolls back hard-won civil rights and will cause significant harm, including increased rates of homelessness and violence against transgender people.
  • ✗ They argue that defining sex so narrowly and excluding gender identity is unscientific, inhumane, and contrary to the policies of major medical associations.

Legislative Strategy: The primary strategy will be to challenge the order in court, arguing it violates the Equal Protection Clause and misinterprets the Civil Rights Act and the Bostock decision. They will also work to block any legislation that seeks to codify the order's definitions and will champion the passage of the Equality Act to provide comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Constitutional Check

The Verdict: ⚠️ Questionable

Basis of Authority:

The executive order cites section 7301 of title 5, United States Code, which grants the President authority to "prescribe regulations for the conduct of employees in the executive branch." It also implicitly relies on the President's authority to direct the enforcement of federal law by executive agencies.

5 U.S. Code § 7301: "The President may prescribe regulations for the conduct of employees in the executive branch."

Constitutional Implications:

[Statutory Interpretation]: The core legal debate is over the interpretation of "sex" in federal civil rights laws like Title VII and Title IX. The order directs agencies to interpret "sex" narrowly as biological sex at birth. This directly contradicts the Supreme Court's reasoning in Bostock v. Clayton County, where the majority held that discriminating against someone for being transgender is inherently discrimination "because of sex." The order argues Bostock was limited to employment termination, a claim legal opponents dispute.
[Precedent]: The Supreme Court's decision in Bostock is the key precedent. While the Court did not address issues like bathrooms or sports, its logic—that you cannot discriminate against a transgender person without considering their sex—is a significant hurdle for this executive order's legal standing.
[Federalism]: The order's mandate on federally-funded entities could conflict with state laws that provide explicit protections for transgender individuals, potentially leading to legal battles over federalism and the conditions attached to federal funding.

Potential Legal Challenges:

Legal challenges are almost certain and have already been filed in response to related actions.

  • Civil rights groups like the ACLU will likely sue, arguing the order is a direct violation of the Bostock precedent and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • State attorneys general from states with strong LGBTQ+ protections are likely to challenge the order, arguing it unlawfully forces them to discriminate and violates the separation of powers.
  • Individuals who are denied services, housing, or have their identification challenged based on the order will likely file lawsuits.

Your Action Options

TO SUPPORT THIS BILL

5-Minute Actions:

  • Call Your Rep/Senators: Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. "I'm a constituent from [Your City/Town] and I urge [Rep./Sen. Name] to support the policies in Executive Order 14168 and vote YES on any legislation that codifies a biological definition of sex."

30-Minute Deep Dive:

  • Write a Detailed Email: Find contact information for your representatives and members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Explain your support for the order's stated goals of protecting women's spaces and sports.
  • Join an Organization: Look for advocacy groups that focus on women's rights from a sex-based perspective or conservative policy organizations.

TO OPPOSE THIS BILL

5-Minute Actions:

  • Call Your Rep/Senators: Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. "I'm a constituent from [Your City/Town] and I urge [Rep./Sen. Name] to oppose Executive Order 14168 and to support the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination."

30-Minute Deep Dive:

  • Write a Letter to the Editor: Submit a letter to your local newspaper explaining why you believe the executive order is discriminatory and harmful to transgender people and civil rights.
  • Join an Organization: Join national or local LGBTQ+ rights organizations or civil liberties groups (e.g., ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Transgender Equality) that are actively fighting this executive order.