The Thin End of the Wedge: How Anti-Trans Executive Orders Set the Stage for Wider Rights Revocation
How These Attacks on Trans Rights Set the Stage for Broader Civil Liberties Erosions
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Some Personal Perspective
I have transgender family members whom I love deeply. Watching them live their lives with courage and resilience has been inspiring—but also heartbreaking as I see the relentless attacks on their existence.
These new executive orders, signed with little fanfare but immense consequences, threaten not just their dignity but their very safety and well-being.
This isn’t abstract political debate; these policies have real, tangible impacts on people I care about.
While I attempt to remain somewhat impartial in my analysis, the fact is I’m human, and I’m extremely upset by these attacks.
The harm is not theoretical—it’s already happening. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that oppression never stops with one group.
The revocation of trans rights is a canary in the coal mine for broader erosions of civil liberties, especially for women and minorities. If we don’t stop this now, we may find ourselves looking back, wondering how we let it go so far.
Executive Orders: What They Are and Why They Matter
One of the biggest misconceptions about executive orders (EOs) is that they are law. They aren’t. An EO doesn’t create new legislation, but it does dictate how federal agencies interpret and enforce existing laws.
That means while Congress may not have passed new anti-trans laws, these orders set the policy for how the government operates. And that has real-world consequences.
Historically, we’ve seen executive orders radically shift the landscape of civil rights. From desegregating the military to establishing DACA protections, presidential directives have shaped the course of the nation.
But we’ve also seen them used as weapons—just look at the Muslim travel ban or the revocation of workplace protections for LGBTQ+ employees.
These latest orders mark a disturbing escalation, taking federal policy back decades and opening the door for widespread discrimination.
Timeline of Trump's 2025 Executive Orders and the Authoritarian Shift
The following timeline outlines the key executive orders issued in 2025 that collectively lay the groundwork for an increasingly authoritarian approach to governance.
These policies systematically dismantle civil rights protections, target marginalized communities, and reshape federal power to enforce a regressive ideological agenda.
January 20, 2025:
Defining Sex as Binary – Executive Order on Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government mandates that all federal agencies define sex as strictly male or female, effectively erasing legal recognition of transgender individuals.
Revoking DEI Initiatives – Executive Order on Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing eliminates all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, rolling back workplace protections and equity measures.
Rescinding Protections for LGBTQ+ Individuals – Executive Order on Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions repeals multiple previous executive orders that ensured protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, including EO 13988, which had safeguarded trans rights in housing, healthcare, and education.
January 21, 2025:
Banning Affirmative Action in Government and Federal Contracts – Executive Order on Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity eliminates affirmative action in federal employment and contracts, removing mandates that had promoted hiring equity based on race, gender, or disability.
Eliminating DEI-Influenced Hiring in Aviation – Executive Order on Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation revokes policies that encouraged diversity in hiring for the FAA, claiming they compromised safety.
January 27, 2025:
Banning Open Transgender Military Service – Executive Order on Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness bans transgender individuals from serving openly in the U.S. military, reversing previous policies allowing trans service members.
January 28, 2025:
Criminalizing Gender-Affirming Care for Minors – Executive Order on Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation bans all federal funding for gender-affirming healthcare for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. This order also calls for investigations into medical institutions that provide such care.
February 5, 2025:
Banning Transgender Women From Women’s Sports – Executive Order on Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports revokes funding from any educational institution that allows trans women and girls to compete in female sports categories.
March 7, 2025:
Restricting Public Service Loan Forgiveness to ‘Approved’ Groups – Executive Order on Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness redefines eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness, excluding individuals who work for organizations that engage in “illegal discrimination” or advocacy deemed “harmful to American values.”
What This Timeline Tells Us
Taken individually, these executive orders might appear as isolated policies. But together, they form a clear pattern of authoritarian governance:
Erasure of Transgender and LGBTQ+ Rights – Legal recognition and protections have been stripped away at multiple levels, from housing to healthcare to military service.
Rolling Back Civil Rights and Equity Measures – Affirmative action, DEI programs, and protections for marginalized groups have been dismantled.
Weaponizing the Federal Government Against Dissenting Institutions – Schools, medical institutions, and federal contractors are being coerced into compliance with these regressive policies through funding restrictions and new compliance mandates.
Setting the Stage for Further Crackdowns – This timeline shows an authoritarian foundation being laid, with the clear potential for future attacks on reproductive rights, free speech, and broader civil liberties.
This is not just a rollback of progressive policies—it’s an aggressive restructuring of federal power to enforce an ideological agenda that could be used to justify even more extreme measures in the future.
What These Executive Orders Do
Let’s be clear: these executive orders are not about “protecting women” or “restoring fairness.” They are about erasing transgender people from public life and dismantling hard-won protections for marginalized communities.
Here’s a breakdown of what these EOs do:
Redefining Sex and Gender – The order on “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism” mandates that all federal agencies define sex as strictly male or female, determined at birth. This not only erases transgender and nonbinary identities from federal law but also rolls back protections for cisgender women who don’t conform to traditional gender norms.
Banning Transgender People From the Military – The military readiness order outright bans transgender individuals from serving openly, reversing previous policies and reintroducing discrimination that was deemed harmful to military cohesion.
Targeting Trans Healthcare – The so-called “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” order halts federal funding for gender-affirming care for minors, even when medical experts confirm that such care is life-saving.
Eliminating DEI and Affirmative Action – DEI programs have been scrapped across federal agencies, removing policies aimed at addressing systemic discrimination in hiring, education, and government services.
Criminalizing Support for Trans Youth – Healthcare providers, educators, and even parents who support gender-affirming care for minors could face federal scrutiny under the Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness order (among others), a chilling move that echoes authoritarian regimes.
Each of these policies chips away at legal protections, replacing inclusion with a rigid, outdated, and punitive view of gender.
Who Will Be Affected?
While these orders specifically target transgender individuals, the collateral damage will extend much further:
Transgender and nonbinary people – Losing access to legal recognition, healthcare, and safety in public spaces.
Cisgender women – Reaffirming outdated, restrictive definitions of womanhood undermines feminist progress and threatens reproductive rights.
People of color and other marginalized groups – The removal of DEI protections signals a broader assault on civil rights policies that protect against systemic discrimination.
Anyone who doesn’t fit rigid gender norms – These policies embolden discrimination against people perceived as “gender nonconforming,” regardless of their identity.
🔒 This is bigger than just trans rights—history shows us what happens when governments take these first steps. Paid subscribers, keep reading to learn how authoritarianism builds momentum—and what we can do to stop it. Subscribe now to continue reading.