U.S suspends processing passport applications with ‘X’ gender marker
The State Department has suspended processing passport applications seeking the gender marker of “X” and will only process and issue passports for people identifying as male or female, according to a department spokesperson.
The move aligns with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday that says it is US government policy “to recognize two sexes, male and female” and that “these sexes are not changeable.”
“In line with that Order, the Department’s issuance of U.S. passports will reflect the individual’s biological sex as defined in the Executive Order,” the spokesperson said Friday.
In addition to the suspension of processing the applications with the X marker, the State Department is no longer issuing US passports with this marker, the spokesperson said.
They said that “guidance regarding previously issued X sex marker passports is forthcoming.”
The Trump executive order reverses changes made under the Biden administration meant to accommodate non-binary, intersex and gender non-conforming persons. Beginning in April 2022, Americans had been able to select X as their gender marker.
The federal government will also shift from using the term “gender” to “sex,” and that sex is “an individual’s immutable biological classification,” a Trump administration official told reporters Monday.
Trump’s executive order says that all government agencies will ensure that official documents, including passports, visas and Global Entry cards, “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.” Employee records will also adhere to the executive order, as will federal departments’ messaging.
Trump promised on the campaign trail to ask Congress to stop the use of federal dollars to promote and pay for gender-affirming procedures. He has also said that his administration would not allow hospitals and health care providers to meet the federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare if they provide chemical or physical gender-affirming care to youth.
