US Supreme Court lets Trump administration require gender at birth be listed on passports

The US Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to require all new passports to display an individual’s biological sex at birth, for now.

The conservative-majority court on Thursday froze an order from a lower court in Massachusetts that had stopped the US government from changing its policy while the legal process plays out.

“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth,” the court said.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order recognising only two sexes, leading the US to issue passports with just male or female designations, based on a person’s sex recorded at birth.

The Biden administration allowed people to self-select their gender on passports and add a third gender option – X – to the government document, which is issued by the State Department.

The win for the Trump administration – the latest on the high court’s emergency docket – means that individuals can no longer show their chosen identity on new or renewed passports in the near future.

The order said that the government is “merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment”.

The Supreme Court also said the administration “is likely to succeed on the merits”, indicating the justices are inclined to issue a final ruling upholding the requirement when the case reaches them.

The three liberal justices dissented.

The plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the limitations in the gender field amounts to harassment and can lead to violence against transgender individuals.