(Washington, D.C.) President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Wednesday banning transgender girls and women from competing in female sports at schools and colleges.
Multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and ABC, have reported on the anticipated executive order, and according to Reuters, a White House official confirmed that President Trump would sign the order on Wednesday.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” will uphold the original intent of Title IX and the rights of cisgender female athletes, according to reports.
The action aligns with the 39th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day and fulfills a key campaign promise made by Trump to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
Title IX is a federal law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education activities, including school sports. In the past, Title IX was used to ensure equality for female athletes.
Under Trump’s executive order, the Department of Education will be directed to interpret Title IX to exclude transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, meaning schools and colleges that receive federal funding would be prohibited from allowing transgender athletes to participate on women’s teams.
Trump’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education raises questions when combined with his executive order directing the agency to enforce a transgender sports ban, leaving uncertainty over how the ban will be implemented without federal oversight.