The Supreme Court on Thursday reportedly cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce a rule requiring that U.S. passports list individuals’ biological sex at birth rather than their self-identified gender, a move that restores a long-standing standard the Biden administration had reversed.
In a 6–3 decision split along ideological lines, the Court’s conservative majority allowed the State Department to proceed with the policy while litigation continues. The unsigned opinion emphasized that the government’s approach merely reflects factual information, not discrimination.
“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth—in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the Court wrote.
The ruling temporarily reinstates President Donald Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to define sex as an immutable biological trait determined at birth. The policy replaces the Biden-era rules that permitted passport applicants to self-select “male,” “female,” or “X” as their gender marker. The Trump administration argued that passports are legal documents that must reflect verifiable data, not personal identity preferences.
“This decision affirms the government’s right to maintain accurate, fact-based identification standards,” a White House spokesperson said following the ruling. “Private citizens cannot force the government to use inaccurate sex designations on identification documents that fail to reflect the person’s biological sex—especially not on identification documents that are government property.”
The Court’s three liberal justices dissented sharply, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the decision “paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification.” The dissenters argued that the policy could cause hardships for transgender and nonbinary travelers whose identity documents no longer align with their personal presentation.
The dispute began shortly after Trump returned to office in January, when he signed an order reversing President Biden’s 2021 directive that allowed Americans to choose their passport gender based on self-identification. In 2022, the Biden administration expanded that policy to include a third, gender-neutral “X” option, which thousands of applicants reportedly selected.
The new Trump policy directs that passports must indicate either “male” or “female,” determined by anatomy at birth. According to administration officials, the goal is to restore “biological accuracy” to federal identification documents and to ensure international consistency in passport recognition standards.
Supporters of the policy say it strengthens the integrity of official documents and prevents confusion in international travel. Critics, including some LGBTQ advocacy groups, argue that it unfairly targets transgender Americans.
In June, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Trump’s order, calling it “rooted in irrational prejudice.” The administration appealed and, after losing in the lower courts, petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene. Thursday’s ruling lifts that injunction, allowing enforcement of the policy while the justices consider the case’s broader constitutional implications.
The State Department said it would immediately begin implementing the order, meaning new passport applicants will see only “male” and “female” options moving forward. Those who previously obtained documents marked with “X” may need to reapply under the new rules.
For now, the Court’s decision represents an important procedural victory for the Trump administration and a signal that the conservative majority views sex classification on government identification as a legitimate, fact-based policy rather than an act of discrimination. The Court is expected to hear full arguments on the merits later this term.
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