White House officials argue the measures are not aimed at stopping transgender people from athletic participation, but at ensuring that they do not have a biological advantage in sports competitions.

Before signing an executive order Wednesday to try to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports in schools and other settings, President Donald Trump repeated a lie he told last year. He asserted that two Olympians who won gold in women’s boxing events in 2024 were men who “transitioned.

President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, fulfilling a key campaign promise that also could complicate the