Trump signs order intended to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports

US President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House (Alex Brandon/AP)

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, gives agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

Protesters march during a rally demanding that NYU Langone commit to providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth (Heather Khalifa/AP)

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Mr Trump said at a signing ceremony on Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order “upholds the promise of Title IX” and will require “immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations” that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.

The timing of the order coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and is the latest in a string of executive actions from Mr Trump aimed at transgender people.