What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for LGBTQ+ rights?

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed multiple executive orders in his first two months in office that impact the lives of LGBTQ+ Americans from healthcare to legal recognition to protection from discrimination.

A new bill in Texas that proposes charging trans people with "gender identity fraud" illustrates how the minority has become a target for some conservative lawmakers since Trump's return to the White House.

In the first of its kind, the bill to amend the Texas penal code would make it an offence to identify onself as "opposite of the biological sex assigned ... at birth" to a government entity or employer. Such felonies in Texas can lead to up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

But people are fighting back in this new climate. Multiple LGBTQ+ organisations have launched legal challenges against Trump's executive orders.

A group of doctors from Harvard Medical School also filed a lawsuit over the removal of articles about their research that referenced LGBTQ+ people.

The U.S. Senate defeated legislation banning trans athletes from women's sports on March 3.

Here's what you need to know:

What has Trump pledged to do on LGBTQ+ rights?

Trump started his second term on Jan. 20 by signing an executive order stating the United States would only recognise two sexes - male and female - before scrapping the use of a gender-neutral "X" marker in passports.

He said federal funds would not be used to "promote gender identity," government guidance documents on trans issues would be removed and trans female inmates would go to men's prisons. 

Trump also signed an order banning gender-affirming care, which can include medical, surgical and mental health services, for anyone under the age of 19. 

Another directive blocked trans soldiers from serving. Defence Department funds will not be used for gender-affirming care, and anyone applying for the military with a "history of" gender dysphoria will not be considered.

Trump signed an order blocking trans women from competing in female categories of sport, including in high schools, universities and grassroots organisations.

Schools cannot use federal funding for purposes relating to "gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology."

Trump also terminated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes across the federal government and ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, impacting HIV services around the globe.

A waiver for life-saving HIV care and treatment does not apply to gay and bisexual men or trans women accessing the preventative medicine PrEP. 

What did Trump do during his first term?

After his first election in 2016, Trump sought to roll back anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across various settings, including health care, employment, adoption, school restrooms, housing and homeless shelters.

He banned trans Americans from serving in the military, which his successor reversed, and removed LGBTQ+ content from federal websites.

By the end of his first term, nearly a third of federal judges were Trump selections with lifetime appointments - of whom 40% had demonstrable anti-LGBTQ+ bias, an analysis by Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ rights organisation, found in January 2021. 

What have LGBTQ+ groups said?

Anti-trans executive orders "targeting the trans and non-binary community on day one will cause harm, especially for young people," said Janson Wu of the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group for LGBTQ+ people.

Seventeen trans female inmates have been protected against transfer to male prisons in lawsuits against Trump's executive order, law firm Rosen Bien Galvan and Grunfeld said on Feb. 28.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing Trump on behalf of seven trans and non-binary people who cannot get passports that match their identity. 

The ACLU and LGBTQ+ groups have also filed a legal challenge to Trump's ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors on behalf of seven trans people. 

"This order puts trans and non-binary young people and their families at risk — and we're not putting up with it," Brian Bond, CEO of PFLAG National, an LGBTQ+ organisation supporting the lawsuit.

This article was updated on Tuesday March 18, 2025 at 10:39 GMT, to include the latest developments.

(Reporting by Lucy Middleton; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Jon Hemming.)