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The U.S. Census Bureau, during the Trump administration, has taken steps to remove queries regarding gender identity from a critical monthly survey that collects data reflecting contemporary American life.
Recently, the Census Bureau submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget, seeking approval to exclude gender identity questions from the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey. The motivation behind this decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s directive to withhold federal funding from programs deemed to “promote gender ideology.”
This directive, issued on the first day of Trump’s second term in January, instructs the federal government to classify sex strictly as male or female, expecting this designation to be reflected in official documents, including passports and policies concerning federal prison assignments. This stance clashes with the positions held by the American Medical Association and numerous other established medical organizations, which argue that both sex and gender should be viewed as existing on a spectrum rather than confined to binary categories.
The Trump administration has enacted several executive orders targeting transgender and nonbinary individuals. These actions have been met with legal challenges from various civil rights organizations. Recently, a federal judge in Seattle issued a ruling that blocked a significant portion of Trump’s initiative to withdraw federal funding from entities that provide gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, pending further examination of the case’s merits.
The Census Bureau has previously indicated plans to incorporate inquiries regarding sexual and gender identity into the 2027 American Community Survey, which stands as the most exhaustive survey addressing various aspects of American life. Testing for these questions commenced in August with provisional questionnaires distributed to numerous households. As of Monday, the Census Bureau had not replied to inquiries concerning whether questions on gender identity would also be excluded from the American Community Survey.
In a related development, the Census Bureau announced the cessation of at least two external advisory committees intended to assist the agency through insights from field experts. The committees affected include the 2030 Census Advisory Committee and the Census Scientific Advisory Committee.
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