It is not possible to determine at conception which reproductive cells an embryo will eventually create as it takes eight to 10 weeks for genetic signals to stimulate the development of non-neutral gonads (i.e. testes or ovaries).
[16][17] Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies".
According to a White House spokesperson, passports that have not expired will remain valid, regardless of how gender is depicted, but new applications will have to comply with the order and designate sex according to that assigned at birth.
[37][29] The legal director of the HRC said the court orders granting inmates access to gender affirming care remain in effect despite federal policy changes.
[38][40] All references to transgender people and gender identity were removed from the Center for Disease Control's website, including survey results lessons on building supportive environments for trans and nonbinary students.
[45] The National Science Foundation compiled an internal list of words the presence of which in a research paper, grant application, or other relevant documentation, would flag a project and put its funding under review.
[48] Shortly following the order, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's acting chair said that it would no longer allow "X" gender markers for those filing discrimination charges.
"[52] The American Civil Liberties Union's Chase Strangio described the executive order as aimed at eradicating trans people from civic and public life.
[57] The National Organization for Women condemned Trump's "extremist executive orders spree" and "scorecard of shame" that NOW said is "defined by cruelty, not common sense, and puts people in real danger.
[59][non-primary source needed] The assertions of the executive order were described as being at odds with determinations of expert groups including the American Medical Association, which holds that gender identity is a spectrum, not an "immutable male–female binary".
[2] Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, issued a statement in support of the executive order stating in part "We are long overdue in this effort to re-establish the exclusivity of two genders...".
"[62] The Women's Liberation Front (WoLF), an American radical feminist advocacy organization that focuses on cis women, sees the executive order as a "...major victory..."[63][64] Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown released a statement denouncing the order, stating that it would threaten peoples' lives, and that he aimed to "protect all Marylanders – especially members of marginalized communities – and wants transgender residents of our State to know that they belong, they matter, and our Office will fight for their rights and safety.
[66] Canadian human rights groups and activists have, in response to the order, called for transgender and non-binary people to be exempted from the Safe Third Country Agreement (which prevents asylum claimants from making a claim in Canada after first arriving in the U.S.).
[67][68][69] On January 26, 2025, an incarcerated trans woman represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that forced transfers and detransition of trans inmates violates the Due Process Clause, Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishments, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
[40][70] On January 30, 2025, District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. unsealed the case and revealed that he had issued a temporary restraining order against transferring the woman or preventing her from receiving gender-affirming care.
[72] On February 7, 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts challenging changes to passport registration policies that were made under the order, alleging violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (by not providing a customary notice and comment period on associated changes to application forms), the First Amendment (considering one's gender identity to be a protected expression), the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and that they constitute a restriction on the freedom of movement.