In a sweeping move that signals an aggressive rollback of transgender rights, the Trump administration has directed the U.S. Census Bureau to remove gender identity questions from multiple federal surveys. This decision, prompted by Executive Order 14168, effectively erases critical data on transgender individuals—data that has long been used to enforce civil rights protections and improve healthcare, employment, and safety measures for LGBTQ+ Americans.
Robert Santos, the recently departed head of the Census Bureau, confirmed in an NPR interview that the agency had stopped its work on collecting statistics that could help protect transgender people. “That work, although it was funded by Congress, was suspended until there could be a clarification as to whether that should proceed or not,” said Santos, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. The order has led to the removal of gender identity questions from at least four surveys, including the National Crime Victimization Survey and the National Health Interview Survey.
While the Trump administration justifies these actions under the guise of eliminating what it calls “gender ideology,” civil rights advocates and researchers warn of the grave consequences. Naomi Goldberg, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, called the removal of these questions “deeply troubling” and emphasized the precedent it sets. “If questions can be removed in this way, what about questions about disability, about race and ethnicity, about economic variables? This is a direct attack on data integrity and civil rights enforcement.”
The Broader Impact: A Systematic Erasure
The decision to erase gender identity from federal data collection is not just an administrative change—it’s a deliberate step toward making transgender individuals invisible in the eyes of the government.
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department requested gender identity questions for the American Community Survey, the most comprehensive survey of U.S. households. The data was intended to help enforce federal laws such as the Civil Rights Act and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The first Trump administration, however, stalled these efforts, and now, with his return to office, Trump has completely shut them down.
The Census Bureau has also taken steps to redefine the concept of gender, replacing “gender” with “sex” in survey instructions for the Survey of Sexual Victimization, which tracks sexual abuse and harassment in correctional facilities. This shift in language not only invalidates the experiences of transgender and nonbinary individuals but also severely limits the ability to document and address instances of discrimination and violence.
RELATED: Census Bureau Moves to Include LGBTQ+ Questions in Major Survey
Silencing LGBTQ+ Data Amid Legal Challenges
The removal of gender identity questions is happening alongside multiple legal battles over Trump’s executive orders targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Several civil rights organizations, including the National Urban League, have filed lawsuits challenging the administration’s restrictions on federal data collection.
Adding to the concerns, the Census Bureau has also canceled a spring meeting of an advisory committee designed to provide guidance for the 2030 census. No explanation was given, but many fear that this signals further attempts to shape the next decade’s political representation and federal funding in ways that deliberately ignore transgender Americans.
Santos described the forced compliance with Trump’s order as a “heart-wrenching” process, stating that Census Bureau employees are committed to scientific integrity, objectivity, and transparency. However, federal agencies are bound by executive orders, meaning that unless Trump’s directives are overturned in court, these changes will remain in effect.
The Fight to Restore Trans Visibility
The exclusion of gender identity from federal surveys is not just about numbers—it’s about the real lives of transgender Americans, their safety, healthcare, and ability to access essential services. Without this data, it becomes significantly harder to advocate for policies that address the disparities faced by transgender individuals.
In previous years, researchers used data from the American Community Survey and other federal reports to expose employment discrimination, healthcare inequities, and the increased risks of violence against transgender people. The Trump administration’s efforts to erase this data make it more difficult to track these disparities, let alone address them.
With lawsuits mounting against Executive Order 14168 and advocacy groups fighting to restore transgender visibility in government data, the next chapter of this battle is far from over. Civil rights organizations are urging Congress to take legislative action to protect the inclusion of gender identity questions in federal surveys.
“This is not just an attack on transgender people; this is an attack on science, on transparency, and on our ability to govern fairly,” Goldberg emphasized. “We must fight to keep this data, because without it, we risk losing hard-fought civil rights protections.”
A Call to Action
Transgender individuals, their families, and allies must remain vigilant in the face of these calculated erasures. Advocacy efforts, legal challenges, and public outcry will be essential to pushing back against these policies. The stakes are too high to ignore—without accurate data, transgender Americans will be left increasingly vulnerable, unable to access the protections they need and deserve.
The Trump administration’s agenda is clear: to remove transgender individuals from federal recognition and strip away their rights, one executive order at a time. But as history has shown, the transgender community is resilient, and the fight for equality will continue, no matter the obstacles placed in its path.
