Supreme Court Sides with Trump: Biological Sex Must Appear on U.S. Passports
In a landmark 6–3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration a major victory by allowing the State Department to require passport applicants to list their biological sex rather than their gender identity. The decision temporarily overturns a Massachusetts court order that had blocked the policy, marking a sharp reversal of the Biden-era “X” gender option introduced in 2021. The unsigned majority opinion stated that “displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth,” asserting that the government is simply attesting to a factual record, not engaging in discrimination.
The ruling has ignited a nationwide debate over gender identity, federal policy, and individual rights. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, writing in a fiery dissent joined by the two other liberal justices, accused the Court of “routinely siding with the Trump administration on the emergency docket” and failing to consider the real-world impact on transgender Americans. “The majority permits harm to be inflicted on the most vulnerable party,” Jackson warned, noting that individuals have been permitted to list their preferred gender on passports for over three decades. The class-action lawsuit brought by a group of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex plaintiffs will continue in lower courts, meaning the issue is far from settled.
The reinstated policy is part of a broader set of executive actions by President Trump aimed at reestablishing biological sex distinctions in federal documentation, sports, and military service. Trump’s Solicitor General John Sauer defended the policy, saying passports convey information to foreign governments and must reflect “scientific reality.” Supporters of the ruling, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, celebrated the outcome. “In other words: there are two sexes, and our attorneys will continue fighting for that simple truth,” Bondi declared. Meanwhile, protests have erupted outside the Supreme Court as advocacy groups vow to challenge what they describe as a dangerous rollback of transgender rights.
