Published November 24, 2025
Updated March 13, 2026
In response to President Trump’s day-one Executive Order 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, federal agencies have proposed updating references to “gender” with “sex” in relevant policies, documents, and regulations. EPPC Administrative State Accountability Project Director Rachel N. Morrison and Legal Associate Samuel Lucas submitted public comments in support of the proposed terminology updates.
As the scholars wrote in a comment:
There are two sexes—male and female. While “gender” historically was used synonymously with sex, the term is now often used to mean something other than binary, biological sex. Biology is not bigotry. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recognized, “Physical differences between men and women … are enduring: ‘The two sexes are not fungible.’”
The scholars also explained in their comments that using the term “sex” instead of “gender” provides necessary clarity and certainty; protects sex-based privacy rights; improves the quality, utility, and clarity of information collected; and reflects biological reality, not subjective self-perception.
The scholars submitted the following comments:
November 13, 2025 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Department of Transportation’s supplemental proposed rule “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,” which proposes updating terminology in drug and alcohol testing regulations by replacing references to “gender” with “sex” to ensure that observers of urine collection for drug testing are of the same sex. Others submitting comments include:
November 20, 2025 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Office of Personnel Management’s notice “Agency Information Collection Request: Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program Enrollment System, 3206-0272 Renewal,” which includes a plan to change “information relating to gender” in relevant forms where appropriate.
November 21, 2025 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Administration for Children and Families’ notice “A Expedited Office of Management and Budget Review and Public Comment: Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied [Alien] Children Into ORR Care Provider Facilities,” which proposes “global terminology updates” to “align with ORR regulations and to comply with Executive Order 14168.”
December 15, 2025 comment by Rachel Morrison on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule “Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B),” which proposes changes related to small business lending under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act including: “(1) removing references to and questions about ‘LGBTQI+’-owned business status, (2) requiring financial institutions to inquire about a principal owner’s sex, rather than sex/gender, and (3) providing that the sex of the principal owners be selected from a static binary response option of male/female, rather than a free-form text field.” Others submitting comments include:
January 26, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Department of Defense’s interim final rule “Identification (ID) Cards for Members of the Uniformed Services, Their Dependents, and Other Eligible Individuals; Amendment,” which removes “the procedures for retirees, dependents, and contractor employees to request a change to their ‘gender marker’ in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).” Others submitting comments include:
March 13, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the HHS proposed rule, “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027; and Basic Health Program,” which proposes to remove language from a nondiscriminatino regulation that defines “sex” to include “sex characteristics, including intersex traits; pregnancy or related conditions; sexual orientation; gender identity; and sex stereotypes.”
March 19, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Administration for Children and Families’ request for comment, “Submission for Office of Managment and Budget Review; Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied (Alien) Children Into ORR Care Provider Facilities,” which requests extended approval of changes made to forms, including “global terminology updates” “to align with ORR regulations and to comply with Executive Order 14168.”
March 27, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Department of Health and Human Services’ notice, “Agency Information Collection Request; 60-Day Public Comment Request,” which involves revisions to information collection “Assurance of Compliance, Form HHS-690” to conform to Executive Order 14168 and a federal court order in Texas v. Becerra (E.D. Tex. 2024) staying nationwide the Biden administration’s Section 1557 Final Rule’s definition of sex discrimination.
April 2, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Department of Health and Human Services’ notice, “Agency Information Collection Request; 30-Day Public Comment Request,” which involves revisions to information collection “Civil Rights and Conscience Complaint and Health Information Privacy, Security, & Breach Notification Complaint” to conform to Executive Order 14168 and a federal court order in Texas v. Becerra (E.D. Tex. 2024) staying nationwide the Biden administration’s Section 1557 Final Rule’s definition of sex discrimination.
April 27, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Social Security Administration’s notice “Agency Information Collection: Proposed Request,” which involves revisions to “Complaint Form for Allegations of Discrimination in Programs or Activities Conducted by the Social Security Administration—0969-0585” used to investigate and formally resolve complaints of discrimination, including based on sex.
July 6, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule, “Modification of Certain Terminology in Title 21,” which proposes to replace “gender” with “sex” or, wherever applicable, delete references to “gender” in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations in compliance with Executive Order 14168.
July 10, 2026 comment by Rachel Morrison and Samuel Lucas on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Proposed Collection, Docket No. 2026-09287, which invited public comment on a proposal to replace the term “gender” with “sex” and remove the option “transgender” from the category “sex” in forms used to identify peer reviewers.
Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project, which advocates for an authentic understanding of the human person in the drafting, implementation, and rollback of government regulations.
