Federal appeals court says Trump must allow 'X' gender marker on passports

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday refused to pause a lower court’s injunction blocking the Trump administration from issuing passports that reflect a person’s biological sex at birth.

Under the Biden administration, the US Department of State allowed passport seekers to select "M," "F," or "X" as their sex marker, which did not have to correspond with the person’s birth sex. One of the executive orders signed by Trump on his first day back in office directed agencies to "implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex," with sex being defined in the order as "an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female."