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Court allows Trump’s order mandating passports reflect biological sex at birth.
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ACLU condemns ruling as a major setback for transgender and nonbinary rights.
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Legal battle continues as lower courts weigh constitutional challenges.
The United States Supreme Court has upheld the Trump administration’s controversial policy requiring passport applicants to be identified by their biological sex at birth, rejecting temporary relief sought by civil rights advocates.
The decision, delivered on Thursday in a brief unsigned order, allows the administration’s rule to stand while ongoing litigation continues in lower courts. The policy, reinstated through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, recognises only two genders — male and female — effectively ending the issuance of passports with a third “X” gender marker.
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The order marks another major victory for conservative policy positions under Trump, whose administration has repeatedly taken a hard stance on gender identity recognition in public documentation and the military.
“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth,” the court stated, adding that the government was merely documenting a “historical fact.”
The ruling divided the court’s nine justices, with all three liberal members dissenting.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which initiated the legal challenge, criticised the decision, describing it as “a heartbreaking setback for the freedom of all people to be themselves.”
“This fuels the fire the Trump administration is stoking against transgender people and their constitutional rights,” said Jon Davidson, senior counsel at the ACLU.
The case stems from an earlier federal ruling that directed the State Department to resume issuing “X” passports for transgender and nonbinary Americans — a policy first introduced in October 2021 under President Joe Biden.
Trump’s government appealed the order and sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court, which has now granted temporary backing to the administration pending final judgment.
The decision adds to a string of similar rulings supporting Trump’s restrictive gender-related policies, including a January executive order banning transgender individuals from military service, which the court also allowed to take effect in June while litigation was ongoing.
The ACLU has vowed to continue the legal fight, saying the outcome will determine the future of gender self-identification rights in the United States.
