In a move that has drawn both support and criticism, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has issued a directive to state agency heads within the Lone Star State to align with federal law and President Donald Trump's executive order that rejects what he considers to be "radical sexual orientation and gender identity ideologies." This order was said to backpedal efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to widen the scope of protections under sex discrimination laws. According to Governor Abbott's letter, as reported by the official Texas Governor's news site, Texas will uphold a binary understanding of gender.
In his letter, Abbott detailed that "the State of Texas recognizes only two sexes—male and female—and sex discrimination consists in treating a member of one sex less favorably than the other, absent some pertinent difference," as per a report by Texas Governor's website. He continued to assert that state agencies must ensure to concretely comply with the laws and the "biological reality that there are only two sexes—male and female." This rhetoric reflects the executive order issued on January 20, 2025 by President Trump, which purported to "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," swiftly reversing the policies previously promoted by the Biden-Harris Administration.
Governor Abbott, throughout his time in office, has been a staunch opponent of moves to more broadly interpret sex discrimination laws to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Key actions taken by Abbott against former President Biden's policies include a vocal condemnation of the reinterpreted Title IX and instructions to the Texas Education Agency to disregard the new rules. Additionally, the directive encompasses Texas public universities and community colleges, instructing them to refuse the adoption of any policy changes related to President Biden's previous orders.
