By quickly issuing a flurry of executive orders that attempt to take away the rights of trans people, President Donald Trump has made clear during his administration’s first few weeks that he intends to continue his bullying ways – ignoring the law and trampling constitutional rights – now that he has returned to the Oval Office.
So, how do we stop bullies like Trump? We don’t back down. When Trump signed an executive order (EO) directing federal agencies to withhold funding to all providers of gender-affirming care for minors, we fought back.
It is a dangerously cruel order that endangers lives by inserting the government into a place where it should not be: the relationship between trained professionals who provide care and their patients and their families.
Within a week of that EO’s signing, Corewell Health, one of Michigan’s largest healthcare organizations, announced that it would stop providing gender-affirming care such as hormone therapy for new patients under 19. The same day Corewell made its announcement, state Attorney General Dana Nessel issued guidance warning that denying such care to young people could be a violation of the state's anti-discrimination laws.
We and our allies also leapt into the breech.
Dozens of advocacy groups, including the ACLU of Michigan, signed an open letter to Corewell Health urging it to reverse course, and reminding the healthcare provider that gender-affirming care is essential, evidence-based treatment that has been proven to save lives.
The very next day, Corewell announced that it will resume giving trans youth the care they need. And a day after that, a federal district court judge, responding to a lawsuit filed by the national ACLU and Lambda against the Trump administration, issued a temporary restraining order completely blocking implementation of the EO.
It was a quick, and extremely rewarding victory that sends a crucial message: Despite his attempts to project absolute power as he tries to create an autocratic presidency, Trump is not a monarch, and there are legal limits on his authority that are central to our democracy.
But the fight to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people from the bully in the White House is only beginning.
Executive Disorder
Trans people make up a miniscule part of the population – fewer than 1% nationwide.
Yet they’ve been the subject of at least six EO’s signed by Trump since he took office on Jan. 20. It is important to note that many of these orders are constitutionally flawed and extremely vulnerable to legal challenges.
Importantly, an executive order does not change existing laws or establish legal precedent. The order that attempts to withhold funding to all providers of gender-affirming care for minors is a prime example.
Trans people have rights under federal law. Enforcement agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and federal courts have ruled that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is a form of illegal sex discrimination under federal law. Nothing in the executive order changes that.
Also crucial is this: Nothing in the executive order changes state laws. In Michigan LGBTQ+ people are protected under state civil rights laws. This includes existing protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression at work, when seeking housing, or in education or public accommodations. Michigan prisons provide medically necessary gender affirming care for some people who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Trans people are able to obtain state IDs, birth certificates, and legal name changes in Michigan that reflect their gender identity.
People feeling discouraged or overwhelmed should take heart. Trump, regardless of the image he’s trying to project, is not all powerful. And, as the courts become involved, it could well turn out that many of his executive orders aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.
But their aim, in part, is to demonize difference by targeting a vulnerable minority of people who simply want to live authentically – using the bathroom of their choice, play sports based on how they identify, and access the medical care their doctors say they need and are entitled to.
Sadly, Trump’s EOs and the craven narrative they imbue are not the only threat trans people are facing.
Reason vs. Demagoguery
Anti-trans legislation is being pushed at both the state and national level. As a result, a very small sliver of this country’s population is receiving a vastly disproportionate amount of vitriol-fueled attention.
Some Michigan lawmakers are pushing this anti-trans narrative with legislation that excludes trans female students from high school sports. The message this sends to all trans youth is you don’t belong, While the practical impact is miniscule. According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), more than 170,000 student-athletes participate in interscholastic sports competitions. Instead of blanket policies, the association evaluates requests from female trans students on an individual basis, granting waivers when appropriate.
Do you know how many such waivers were granted in the 2024-25 school year?
Two.
By making these decisions on a case-by-case basis, the MHSAA is demonstrating that there are fair, reasoned, and compassionate ways to address issues affecting so few people.
Unfortunately, some politicians want to discard that approach entirely. Instead, they are pushing harmful legislation that appeals to ignorance at the expense of children who only want to participate in sports based on who they are, not the gender assigned to them at birth.
There are currently four bills in the Michigan Legislature seeking to do just that:
- HB 4024 seeks to deny trans student access to restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity. Restroom and locker room use would be governed by “sex assigned at birth.”
- HB 4031would mandate that participants in interscholastic sports could only have their performance scores and placement based on “biological sex” or “sex assigned at birth.”
- HB 4066 would restrict participation in school sports based on “sex assigned at birth”
- SB 9 attempts to limit access to school restrooms and changing rooms based on “biological sex.”
There’s also a federal bill passed by the House of Representatives and sitting in the Senate that would, if signed into law, would deny trans students the ability to play school sports in accordance with their gender identity.
There are a lot of bullies trying to pass bad laws and implement harmful policies affecting trans people. These laws and policies are a distraction to the real issues facing the American people, and the inability of these politicians to come up with real solutions to real problems.
They must be confronted, opposed, and stopped. It will take all of us working together to do that.