Sarah Parshall Perry, Paul J. Larkin
In two short weeks, President Donald Trump has issued scores of executive orders, many of them related to gender identity. Outraged critics claim that he lacks the authority to do so. Do they have a case?
Consider first the orders themselves. In addition to recognition of a formal two-sex policy for the whole of government, Trump issued executive orders barring trans-identified individuals from service in the military, requiring the removal of preferred pronouns in all government communiques, and directing all federally funded educational institutions to maintain athletic programs separated by biological sex, rather than gender identity.
One particular executive order of January 28, 2025—“Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”—directed all federal agencies, among others, to “immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end gender-affirming medical care for people under nineteen.” It also directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” including through Medicare or Medicaid conditions of participation or conditions for coverage,” and through “section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” the ACA’s non-discrimination provision.
An unsurprising flurry of litigation ensued, and, in the most recent, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the president and various federal executives on behalf of national LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, PFLAG, and a group of trans-identified minors and their parents.
Gender Ideology Threatens Religious Freedom and Endangers Children
Chief among their claims is that this executive order is beyond the scope of the president’s authority (or ultra vires) because Congress—not the executive—controls the power of the public purse. Therefore, they claim, the president’s directive prohibiting expenditure of federal funds for the purpose of performing transgender treatment or surgery is illegal for two reasons: First, Congress has already appropriated funds to be disbursed through HHS without any such limitation, » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/trumps-transgender-orders-are-well-within-executive-authority