WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, in his latest move targeting transgender people since returning to office.

“With this executive order the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said before he signed the order at the White House, surrounded by dozens of children and female athletes.

Top Republicans including US House Speaker Mike Johnson and firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Green were among those in the audience to watch the signing ceremony.

“We will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls. From now on, women sports will be only for women,” Trump added to applause.

The order gives government agencies authority to deny federal funds to schools that allow transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams.

“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the executive order said.

Trump also said he would be pushing the International Olympic Committee to change its rules on transgender athletes before the Games return to American soil in 2028 in Los Angeles.

He said he had ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “make it clear” to the IOC that “we want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject.”

Trump added that he had directed Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem to deny visa applications “made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the Games.”

– Culture war –
Republican Trump has repeatedly targeted gender non-conforming people in a blitz of orders pushing his radical right-wing agenda since his inauguration for a second term on January 20.

Trump signed an order to rid the military of what he called “transgender ideology” and effectively ban transgender troops. He also issued an order to restrict gender transition procedures for people under age 19.

The slew of actions comes despite the fact that transgender people make up only a small minority of the US population.

During the 2024 election campaign he repeatedly hammered Democrats on the divisive issue of transgender rights during the 2024 election campaign, capitalizing on a broader culture war over the topic.

One of Trump’s most successful attack lines against his election rival Kamala Harris — “Kamala Harris is for they/them. President Trump his for you” — targeted her support for trans rights.

Trump also targeted her one-time support for gender reassignment operations for prisoners.

His executive order on Wednesday comes after the Republican-led House of Representatives in January passed a bill severely restricting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

As transgender people have become a more visible presence in the United States, sparking questions around gender norms and fairness, many conservatives have rallied around women’s sports.