In a landmark win for President Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for his passport policy.
The court’s ruling allows the administration to restrict passport gender designations strictly to birth sex.
The decision, issued Thursday, November 7, reverses a lower court’s pause on the controversial rule.
It effectively ends the “X” gender option introduced under President Joe Biden in 2021.
The 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines, permits Trump’s policy to take effect while lawsuits continue.
The court’s unsigned order said listing birth sex “does not violate equal protection principles.”
It described the designation as “a historical fact” rather than discrimination or unequal treatment.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office recognizing only two sexes.
The move dismantled several transgender rights and diversity policies enacted during Biden’s presidency.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling as a victory for “biological truth.”
She wrote on X that “there are two sexes,” vowing to keep defending that “simple truth.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called the ruling “a victory for common sense and President Trump.”
She said the administration was elected to eliminate “woke gender ideology” from federal policy.
Gender markers have appeared on U.S. passports since 1976.
For decades, Americans could choose a gender marker reflecting identity rather than birth certificate details.
That policy now faces a sharp reversal as the new rule takes effect nationwide.
Earlier this year, a Massachusetts judge blocked the rule, calling it unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.
Trump’s legal team appealed, arguing the lower court “had no basis in law or logic.”
By lifting the block, the Supreme Court handed Trump one of his biggest cultural victories yet.
The decision marks a major rollback of Biden-era LGBTQ+ protections.
It also sets the stage for renewed political and legal battles over transgender rights in the coming months.
