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Rubio Implements Trump Order Halting 'X' Gender Marker Passport Applications

Jan 24, 2025, 02:32 AM

The U.S. State Department has halted the processing of passport applications with the nonbinary 'X' gender marker following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The order, implemented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, recognizes only male and female as sexes, describing them as immutable biological realities. Rubio directed State Department staff to suspend all pending and future applications for 'X' gender markers and gender changes on official documents. Existing passports with the 'X' marker remain valid until their expiration, but renewals must reflect the sex assigned at birth. The executive order, titled 'Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,' mandates that all government-issued IDs, including passports and visas, align with biological classifications of male or female. The policy, which reverses a 2022 decision introduced by the Biden administration to issue 'X' gender markers on passports, has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, with Lambda Legal describing it as denying science and making life harder for nonbinary and transgender individuals. Rubio, confirmed as Secretary of State earlier this week, is set to make his first foreign trip to Central America later this month.