Trump targets culture war lightning rods in early slate of executive orders

Incoming President Trump is planning to target federal diversity and pro-transgender initiatives among his early slate of executive orders, officials said on Monday.

The latter order will be aimed at “defending women from gender, ideology, extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” officials told reporters in a phone call.

The order would clarify that it is U.S. government policy to recognize just two sexes, male and female. Those would be classified based on reproductive function rather than chromosomes, officials said.

References of “gender” for federal employees will be switched to “sex.”

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Trump officials also signaled that the Biden administration’s decision to offer an “X” gender passport option would be rescinded, telling reporters, “the Secretary of State, Homeland Security and all other agencies are going to ensure that official government documents, including passports and visas, reflect sex accurately.” 

Other aspects of the order would include making sure taxpayer funds do not go toward gender-transition surgeries and stripping Biden administration guidance on preferred pronoun use in schools.

The other order mentioned would roll back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by the federal government.

It’s aimed at ending taxpayer funding to diversity initiatives, with Trump officials holding up examples like the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s environmental justice program, Treasury Department diversity training and diversity recruiting efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The order would direct the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management to coordinate with various agencies to terminate all similar programs.

Trump has promised to sign more than 200 executive orders within his first 24 hours as president — many targeting culture war issues and border security, two cornerstones of his White House campaign. 

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Signaling his intent to waste no time after being sworn in, Trump aides have already briefed both members of Congress and members of the media on what many of those orders will entail.

On a separate press call held on Monday, Trump officials said he would sign executive actions ending birthright citizenship and renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report