The Trump Administration Is Trying to Erase Trans People, but the Law Clearly Protects Them
Over the weekend, revealed that officials within the Trump administration are pushing for a definition of the term 鈥渟ex鈥� in federal civil rights laws that would eliminate non-discrimination protections for transgender people. Transgender people and their families understandably panicked at that news.
The reality, though, is that transgender people are already protected from discrimination in many contexts under federal law. And we are already fighting in court alongside transgender plaintiffs to keep those protections from being taken away.
Federal civil rights laws bar sex discrimination by employers, schools, landlords, and health care providers, through laws such as Title VII, Title IX, and the Affordable Care Act. Federal courts have consistently ruled that the protection against sex discrimination covers discrimination against transgender people, in contexts ranging from employment to to access to health care. Recognizing that anti-trans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination makes sense, given that you can鈥檛 describe what it means to be transgender without talking about the person鈥檚 sex.
The idea that bans on sex discrimination cover transgender people is not new and it鈥檚 not something the Obama administration made up. State courts have ruled this way going back to the 1970s, and federal courts have done so since the 1990s. Today, many federal appeals courts agree that trans people are protected from discrimination under statutes barring sex discrimination, and a wide range of federal agencies has issued rulings or regulations protecting transgender people through bans on sex discrimination. That includes the , the , and the .
The Trump administration is trying hard to take away these existing protections and make anti-trans discrimination legal in every context it can find. They are arguing in court that civil rights laws don鈥檛 cover transgender people and they have revoked administrative that used to make clear to schools and prisons that transgender people are protected under current law. They have also made clear they will propose new regulations that would leave transgender people without recourse under federal law for discrimination they face in many contexts.
If successful, Trump鈥檚 actions would harm millions of people all across America.
Aimee Stephens, whom the 吃瓜直播 represents, is one of them. She worked as a funeral director and embalmer for six years at a funeral home in Detroit. Aimee knew she was a girl from an early age. When she came out to her boss and co-workers as the woman she is, her boss fired her for being transgender. Aimee and her wife, Donna, have had to sell off their possessions just to stay afloat. This spring, a federal appeals court ruled that what happened to Aimee was not only wrong, it was unlawful sex discrimination. The funeral home has asked the Supreme Court to reverse the case and leave Aimee with no job and no remedy for the discrimination she experienced.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice will file a brief in the case about whether it believes the federal appeals court was right to rule for Aimee. Its position won鈥檛 be a surprise: Attorney General Sessions issued a in September 2017 declaring that the very federal law Aimee sued under 鈥� Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 鈥� doesn鈥檛 protect transgender people from discrimination.
Aidan DeStefano, another 吃瓜直播 client, would also face harm if the Trump administration succeeded in undoing legal protections for transgender people. Aidan, who is transgender, used to attend Boyertown Area Senior High School in central Pennsylvania. His school district allows boys like Aidan to use the boys鈥� restrooms, participate in boys鈥� sports teams, and use the boys鈥� locker rooms. The school district adopted that policy in large part because a from 2016 from the U.S. Department of Education made clear that Title IX, which bars sex discrimination by schools, covers anti-trans discrimination.
But in early 2017, the Trump administration . Yet when anti-trans activists sued Aidan鈥檚 school over its policy allowing transgender students to use the restroom, the courts rejected their challenge and upheld the school鈥檚 inclusive policy. The people behind that lawsuit have announced that they will ask the Supreme Court to take up the case.
If the Trump administration had its way, Shannon Andrews would also lose the protections of civil rights laws. Shannon supervises a cancer research lab at the University of Wisconsin. Like other state employees, she gets health care insurance through the state. Shannon faced state rules that specifically excluded coverage for hormone therapy and surgery relating to gender transition, even though her doctors say that care is medically necessary for her.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that the state violated federal law when it barred Shannon from receiving this health care because she鈥檚 transgender. What鈥檚 more, a jury of Shannon鈥檚 peers recognized that the state鈥檚 treatment of her was wrong and awarded her damages for the discrimination she faced.
In this context as well, the Trump administration is working to change the federal government鈥檚 official interpretation of one of the laws that Shannon relied on 鈥� a portion of Obamacare that bars discrimination based on sex 鈥� in an effort to allow discrimination against transgender people.
The good news here is that this administration doesn鈥檛 get the last word on trans people鈥檚 rights. Many courageous transgender people are already in court, fighting to maintain these essential civil rights protections. They鈥檒l continue to do so, and we鈥檒l be by their sides, as long as it takes to maintain their basic rights.
Learn More 吃瓜直播 the Issues on This Page
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PodcastMay 2025
Civil Liberties
+3 Issues
We鈥檙e Still Ready: Trump鈥檚 First 100 Days With Cecillia Wang. Explore Podcast.We鈥檙e Still Ready: Trump鈥檚 First 100 Days with Cecillia Wang
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Press ReleaseMay 2025
Free Speech
LGBTQ Rights
Military Families Seek Preliminary Injunction Against Censorship In Department Of Defense Schools. Explore Press Release.Military Families Seek Preliminary Injunction Against Censorship in Department of Defense Schools
ALEXANDRIA, Va. 鈥� On behalf of six military families with students enrolled in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, the 吃瓜直播 today filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to declare DoDEA鈥檚 enforcement of executive orders resulting in classroom censorship unconstitutional. DoDEA, whose students lead the United States in math and reading proficiency scores, operates 161 schools across 11 countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The demand for an injunction was filed on behalf of 12 students and their families, ranging from pre-K to 11th grade, who attend DoDEA schools as children of active duty servicemembers stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy, and Japan. Since January, the plaintiffs鈥� schools have removed books, altered curricula, and canceled events that the current administration has accused of promoting 鈥済ender ideology鈥� or 鈥渄ivisive equity ideology.鈥� Censored items include materials about slavery, Native American history, women鈥檚 history, LGBTQ identities and history, and preventing sexual harassment and abuse, as well as portions of the Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology curriculum. 鈥淲e make sacrifices as a military family so that my husband can defend the Constitution and the rights and freedoms of all Americans,鈥� said Jessica Henninger, a plaintiff on behalf of her children in DoDEA schools. 鈥淚f our own rights and the rights of our children are at risk, we have a responsibility to speak out. Despite the anxiety and uncertainty among DoDEA parents and students right now, we know that our children have a right to an education free from censorship, and we won't stand by silently and watch that right be taken away.鈥� The new motion includes a list of 233 books alleged to have been quarantined or removed from shelves, including: 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� by Harper Lee; 鈥�#MeToo: Women Speak Out Against Sexual Assault,鈥� edited by the New York Times; 鈥淟ooking for Alaska鈥� by John Green; 鈥淐an't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History鈥� by Jeff Chang; 鈥淕eneration Brave: The Gen Z Kids Who Are Changing the World鈥� by Kate Alexander; and 鈥淛uli谩n is a Mermaid鈥� by Jessica Love. It includes further titles by acclaimed authors including Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. The vast majority of titles appear to be by or about women, people of color, or LGBTQ people. 鈥淭hese are American students in American schools, and they have the same First Amendment rights as their peers,鈥� said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淔amilies in DoDEA schools have the right to access books about race and gender and the right to learn about the vibrantly diverse world around them. We owe it to these students to help them learn and grow, not stifle their age-appropriate exposure to ideas this administration happens to deem politically incorrect.鈥� One DoDEA school canceled events honoring Juneteenth and Holocaust Remembrance Day, and another removed posters featuring Malala Yousafzai and Frida Kahlo. Families allege in the filings that their requests for information from DoDEA about what information has been removed or why have gone unanswered. 鈥淐lassroom censorship has impacted our clients鈥� ability to prepare for AP exams, to learn about their neighbors and peers, and to see themselves in their curriculum,鈥� said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the 吃瓜直播 of Kentucky. 鈥淎nd in DoDEA schools, which are some of the most diverse and high performing schools in the nation, the impact is magnified. This kind of political meddling is antithetical to the First Amendment.鈥� 鈥淭he Trump administration cannot violate the First Amendment by removing books and curricula it doesn鈥檛 like,鈥� said Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney at the 吃瓜直播 of Virginia. 鈥淪tudents have a right to see themselves reflected in their libraries and classrooms, and they also have a right to learn from the perspectives of people who aren鈥檛 like them. That鈥檚 no less true for military families than for anyone else.鈥� The 吃瓜直播, the 吃瓜直播 of Kentucky, and the 吃瓜直播 of Virginia filed suit last month, arguing that DoDEA enforcement of three executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in January 2025 led to widespread violations of students鈥� First Amendment rights. The suit, and the motion for preliminary injunction, were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The motion can be viewed online here. -
Press ReleaseMay 2025
LGBTQ Rights
Transgender Federal Worker Challenges Trump鈥檚 Federal Bathroom Ban. Explore Press Release.Transgender Federal Worker Challenges Trump鈥檚 Federal Bathroom Ban
WASHINGTON - A civilian employee of the Illinois National Guard has filed a class action complaint to the Army National Guard Bureau Equal Opportunity Office (NGB-EO) challenging a Trump administration policy prohibiting transgender federal employees from using restrooms and other accommodations aligned with their gender. LeAnne Withrow of Springfield, Illinois, is a lead military and family readiness specialist and civilian employee for the Illinois National Guard. Previously, she served as a staff sergeant for the National Guard and is the recipient of multiple commendations and awards, including the Illinois National Guard Abraham Lincoln Medal of Freedom. Following a January 20 executive order signed by President Trump, officials with the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Defense, and the federal National Guard Bureau issued notices to all employees requiring use of designated restrooms strictly based upon their sex assigned at birth. Soon after, Withrow was instructed by supervisors within her chain of command that she may not use restrooms and other facilities designated for women. That order violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment. In a 2020 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States held 6-3 that Title VII prohibits discrimination against transgender workers on the basis of their sex. Today鈥檚 class action filing challenges the executive order and ensuing implementation actions with violating Title VII as well as the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedures Act. The complaint was filed on behalf of Ms. Withrow by the 吃瓜直播, the 吃瓜直播 of DC, the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the 吃瓜直播, and Democracy Forward. 鈥淪ince coming out nearly a decade ago, the fact that I鈥檓 transgender has had no negative impact on my abilities as a worker and has caused no disruption or disturbance among my colleagues or supervisors,鈥� said LeAnne Withrow, a civilian federal employee for the Illinois National Guard. 鈥淭his policy would put a needless barrier between my work on behalf of military families, forcing me to choose between my service to this country and my own dignity. I love my work and want nothing to come between me and the people I serve. I鈥檓 hopeful the courts will see through this blatant effort to push people like me out of the federal workforce.鈥� 鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear鈥搃f you cannot use the bathroom at work, you cannot go to work,鈥� said Shana Knizhnik, Senior Staff Attorney for the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project. 鈥淭ransgender federal workers across the federal government are facing an intentional effort to drive them out of the workforce and out of public life by an administration with no shortage of hostility towards them and their identities. We look forward to making this case to the agency and will do everything we can to ensure all federal workers are treated equally and fairly regardless of who they love or who they are.鈥� 鈥淭his case is about people. Targeting transgender people is both unlawful and a dangerous example by our federal government. Democracy Forward is honored to work with LeAnne and our partners in this case to defend transgender people from hateful and harmful bigotry,鈥� said Democracy Forward Legal Director Audrey Wiggins. 鈥淭his policy is part of a national campaign to push transgender people out of public life,鈥� said Michael Perloff, Senior Staff Attorney at the 吃瓜直播-D.C. 鈥淚t鈥檚 discrimination pure and simple and it has no place in our law or our society.鈥� 鈥淚llinois has rejected the senseless, reckless discrimination against transgender people that is the hallmark of the Trump Administration,鈥� said Michelle Garcia, Deputy Legal Director at the 吃瓜直播 of Illinois. 鈥淎s a proud, vital member of the Illinois National Guard, who has served our state and this country honorably and proudly, neither LeAnne nor any other federal employee should be forced to use a restroom that is inconsistent with their gender identity.鈥� Today鈥檚 complaint filed to the National Guard Bureau Equal Opportunity Office can be found here. -
Press ReleaseApr 2025
LGBTQ Rights
Aclu Asks Court To Expand Temporary Relief To All Trans, Intersex, And Nonbinary People Seeking Passports. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Asks Court to Expand Temporary Relief to All Trans, Intersex, and Nonbinary People Seeking Passports
BOSTON 鈥� The 吃瓜直播, the 吃瓜直播 of Massachusetts, and Covington & Burling LLC filed motions for class certification and preliminary classwide relief today in their lawsuit challenging the State Department鈥檚 refusal to issue passports with accurate sex designations for trans, intersex, and nonbinary American citizens. The new filing follows a federal court ruling finding that an executive order by President Trump and the passport policy implementing that order are likely unconstitutional and unlawful. The court鈥檚 preliminary injunction requires the State Department to issue updated passports to six transgender and nonbinary people who are named plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The new filings ask the court to certify a class of people adversely affected by the State Department policy and to extend this relief nationwide to the entire class so that other transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people can receive accurate passports. 鈥淭he court鈥檚 finding that this policy is likely unconstitutional and unlawful holds just as true for our class members as it does for our plaintiffs, and we are asking the court to expand its preliminary injunction to protect the rights of all transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people,鈥� said Li Nowlin-Sohl, Senior Staff Attorney at the 吃瓜直播 LGBTQ & HIV Project. 鈥淏y forcing people to carry documents that directly contradict their identities, the Trump administration is attacking the very foundations of the right to privacy and the freedom to be ourselves,鈥� said Jessie Rossman, Legal Director at 吃瓜直播 of Massachusetts. 鈥淚t is important that every person has the ability to live and travel safely, and we will continue to fight to rescind this unlawful policy to make sure that this relief extends to everyone.鈥� On his first day in office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order attempting to mandate discrimination against transgender people across the federal government and government programs. This included a directive to the Departments of State and Homeland Security 鈥渢o require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards鈥� reflect their sex 鈥渁t conception.鈥� Under the ensuing passport policy, the State Department began refusing to issue new, renewed, or changed passports with a sex designation other than what the State Department believed to be their sex assigned at birth regardless of the sex designation applied for. Over 214,000 public comments in opposition to the State Department鈥檚 new policy were collected by the 吃瓜直播 and Advocates for Transgender Equality. In February 2025, the 吃瓜直播, the 吃瓜直播 of Massachusetts, and Covington and Burling LLP filed the Orr v. Trump class action complaint on behalf of seven people who have not been able to obtain passports that match who they are because of the State Department鈥檚 new passport policy or who are likely to be impacted by the new policy upon their next renewal. The complaint was filed in the federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts. An amended complaint was filed on April 25, adding five named plaintiffs seeking to represent the class along with the seven plaintiffs named in the original complaint.