Public statements or credible news reports

Rubio Halts 'X' Gender Passports After Trump's Order Recognizing Only Male and Female

Jan 24, 2025, 11:50 PM

The US State Department has halted the processing of passport applications with the nonbinary gender marker 'X', following an executive order issued on Monday by President Donald Trump recognizing only male and female genders and stipulating that federal funds should not be used to promote gender ideology. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a letter to staff instructing employees to immediately suspend all pending and future passport applications and documentation with 'X' as the sex marker, stating, 'The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable.' Existing passports with the 'X' marker remain valid, but renewals must align with the sex assigned at birth. The State Department will also no longer issue birth records with 'X' sex markers for U.S. citizens with children born abroad. This policy change effectively eliminates the option for Americans to select a gender-neutral identifier on their passports, requiring them to choose between 'M' for male or 'F' for female.