Trump's legal triumph over gender ideology: Supreme Court upholds passports for biological sexes only

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the State Department will maintain, at least for now, President Donald Trump's policy barring transgender citizens from changing the sex on their passports to reflect their gender identity.

The decision, adopted by a 6-3 majority, marks a new legal victory for Trump in his goal of reversing what he has described as "gender ideology" within the federal government. With this ruling, the high court stayed lower court rulings that had blocked the measure as based on "irrational prejudice."

Arguments of the ruling

In an unsigned decision, the majority held that including biological sex on passports "no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth," arguing that the document is "attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment."

Although the individual votes were not disclosed, the 6-3 split followed the court's usual ideological lines.

Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor filed a joint dissent, in which Jackson called the ruling a "pointless but painful perversion" and criticized the decision as representing a "senseless sidestepping of the obvious equitable outcome [which] has become an unfortunate pattern."

Government defense and legal context

Attorney General D. John Sauer defended the policy pushed during the Trump administration, noting that the court rulings that suspended it infringe on the president's constitutional authority over foreign affairs.

Sauer argued that the decision to return to the marker based on birth sex was a legitimate executive action and should not give rise to further lawsuits under the equal protection clause or under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Under the reinstated rule, passport holders will be required to use the sex assigned at birth, eliminating the X option that had been incorporated during the Biden administration.