U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transgender women from competing in female sports, aligning with laws already enacted in at least 24 states.

During his speech to Congress, Trump declared, “I also signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women’s sports.” The order, titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, requires federally funded K-12 schools and colleges to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports. So far, it has not faced legal challenges.

Trump also gave a special mention to Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2022 when a transgender girl on the opposing team spiked a ball that struck her head during a match in North Carolina.

“Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete preparing for a future in college sports,” Trump said. “But when her girls’ volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side, and ending her athletic career.”

Acknowledging McNabb’s presence in the gallery, Trump added, “Payton is here tonight, and from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls’ teams, or they will lose all federal funding.”

The executive order states that there are only “two immutable sexes” and is part of broader policies restricting transgender rights under the Trump administration.

Previous policies included banning transgender individuals from military service, restricting changes to gender markers on passports, and removing transgender references from a government website commemorating the Stonewall riots.

Some of these policies have faced legal challenges, including recent temporary holds by judges on a separate policy that aimed to block federal funding for gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals under 19.