In short:
Donald Trump has signed an executive order attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female school sport.
Polls have found a majority of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in sports that align with their gender identity.
What's next?
The order is likely to face legal challenges, with critics saying it will harm transgender children.Â
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports.
The order, which Mr Trump signed on Wednesday, US time, directs the Department of Justice to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Mr Trump's interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education.
"The war on women's sports is over," Mr Trump said at a signing ceremony with dozens of women and girls behind him.
"My administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes."
The order, which is likely to face legal challenges, calls for "immediate enforcement" nationwide.
It threatens to cut off federal funding for any school that allows transgender women or girls to compete in female-designated sporting competitions.
Order is latest Trump move restricting transgender rights
The order would affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 520,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
During the election campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly aired television advertisements that criticised allowing transgender women and girls to compete in female sport.
Donald Trump holds up the signed executive order at the White House.. (Reuters: Leah Millis)
Polls have found a majority of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in sports that align with their gender identity.
The order follows a series of other Trump executive orders restricting transgender rights, including one attempting to halt all federal support for healthcare that aids in gender transition for people under 19 and another that bans transgender people from serving in the military.
Those orders have faced immediate legal challenges.
Queer people react to Trump's gender order
Photo shows A pride flag before Capitol HIll
On his first day in office on January 20, Mr Trump signed an order demanding government employees refer only to "sex" and not "gender", and declaring sex to be an "immutable biological reality" that precludes any change in gender identity.
The debate over transgender inclusion in sports has often centred on fairness, with opponents saying that people who have gone through male puberty have physical advantages.
Transgender activists say there is little evidence to show that transgender women have an unfair advantage.
The order reverses a Biden administration interpretation of Title IX.
That interpretation, which was later blocked by a federal judge, said Title IX protected transgender people from discrimination on the basis of sex.
More than 20 states have passed laws that ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports, some of which have faced legal challenges.
'Partisan' policy will 'make life harder' for transgender kids
The NCAA requires transgender women athletes to meet testosterone limits on a sport-by-sport basis, but does not track transgender participation in school sports.
NCAA president Charlie Baker told Republican senators in December that the organisation would follow federal law. The NCAA did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment following Trump's order.
Kelley Robinson speaks at the Democratic National Convention in August 21, 2024. (Reuters: Elizabeth Frantz)
Kelley Robinson, president of the LGBTQIA+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said Mr Trump's actions would expose children to harassment and discrimination.
"For so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong. We should want that for all kids — not partisan policies that make life harder for them," Ms Robinson said in a statement.
The order was also condemned by the National Women's Law Center, whose CEO Fatima Goss Graves said: "Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments."
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and organisers for the 2028 Olympics, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.
Reuters/AP
