Trump says he’s ready to eliminate government support of gender ideology

Two days after his decisive win in the presidential election, Donald Trump made an important video announcement. Though Trump has previously spoken about his opposition to men in women’s sports, in his announcement he goes much further in explaining the steps he will take on “day one” of his presidency to eliminate governmental support for gender ideology, which asserts that sex is mutable through medical treatment and that it is possible to be born in the “wrong” body in terms of sex.
Trump opened his remarks by saying he will “stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth” by “revok(ing) gender-affirming care for minor children.” This necessitates a variety of actions by the executive and the legislative branches of the federal government. First, Trump said, he will issue an “executive order to every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.”
Next, Trump stated that he would “ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures.” In addition, he would seek to “pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all fifty states,” though it is unclear by this locution whether these laws would need to be passed at the state level.
Trump then shifts his focus to those who provide so called “gender-affirming care,” hitting the issue hard in terms of potential legal and financial penalties. Trump stated that he would “declare that any hospital or health provider that participates in the chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth will no longer meet federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare, and will be terminated from the program immediately.”
In addition, Trump said that he will “support the creation of a private right of action for victims to sue doctors who have unforgivably performed these procedures on minor children.” Left unclear is whether one must be the direct recipient of these medical procedures, or whether a parent of a minor child might also have standing to sue.
Trump next stated that he will instruct his Department of Justice to “investigate Big Pharma and the big hospital networks to determine whether they have deliberately covered up horrific long-term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich at the expense of vulnerable patients.” Recent research has shown that long-term consequences may include permanent bone loss, lower IQ, significant cardiovascular problems and the destruction of normal sexual function, including the ability to experience orgasm.
Further, Trump states this investigation will also examine “whether Big Pharma or others have illegally marketed hormones and puberty blockers which are in no way licensed or approved for this use.” So-called “off-label use” of prescription medicines by individual doctors has traditionally been honored, but if there was marketing of these drugs for these off-label uses by the pharmaceutical companies, that is illegal.
Trump next turns to education. He stated, “My Department of Education will inform states and school districts that if any teacher or school official suggests to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body, they will be faced with severe consequences, including potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination and the elimination of federal funding.” Ironically, the Biden Administration had threatened school districts with the very same consequences if they did not allow such behavior. Now the executive branch will wield the same sword, but cutting in the opposite direction.
Trump left the most significant announcement for last. Executive actions can be undone at the stroke of a pen. What matters is law passed by Congress, which is not so easily undone in an age where we have often seen divided Congresses and razor-thin majorities. Trump states he will “ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the U.S. government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth. The bill will also make clear that Title IX prohibits men from participating in women’s sports, and we will protect the rights of parents from being forced to allow their minor child to assume a gender which is new and an identity without the parents’ consent.”
Such a bill would be far-reaching in its effects. No longer would anyone identifying as female be placed in women’s prisons, because it would be the inmate’s sex, not their gender identity, that would rule placement. Ditto for women’s shelters. And once again, signs on restroom doors would indicate sex, and not gender identity. If passed, this bill would be one of the most stunning legislative moves of the century.
Trump’s election, and his strong opposition to gender ideology, has already emboldened Democrats who never embraced that ideology in the first place, and who lamented their party being willing to sacrifice its electoral aims at that altar. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Tom Suozzi of New York have indicated they will break with their party over the issue of men in women’s sports. Even Hillary Clinton’s former right-hand man, Phillippe Reines, stated after the election, “Most Democrats I know think, frankly, that males at birth shouldn’t play a woman’s sports and vice versa.” This newfound courage to openly signal opposition shows that the rejection of gender ideology enjoys greater Democratic support than might be imagined.
Trump ends his remarks by saying, “No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gender … Under my leadership, this madness will end.” All Americans should be watching with great interest whether Trump is able to fully implement his complete agenda on the issue. If he does, it will be one of the most revolutionary U-turns in government policy the country has ever seen.