BOSTON (AP) — When Ash Lazarus Orr went to renew his passport in early January, the transgender organizer figured it would be relatively routine.
But more than two months on, Orr is waiting to get a new passport with a name change and a sex designation reflecting who he is. The delay has prevented him from traveling overseas to receive gender-affirming care this month in Ireland since he refuses to get a passport that lists an “inaccurate sex designation.”
Orr blames the delay on President Donald Trump, who on the day he took office issued an executive order banning the use of the “X” marker as well as the changing of gender markers. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender.
“This is preventing me from having an accurate identification and the freedom to move about the country as well as internationally,” said Orr, who is among seven plaintiffs — five transgender Americans and two nonbinary plaintiffs — who have sued the Trump administration in federal court over the policy. “This has really, truly impeded on my life and my freedom as well ... The government is questioning who I am as a trans person.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the federal government on their behalf and was in court Tuesday in Boston seeking a preliminary injunction, which would put the policy on hold while the lawsuit proceeds in court. It is the only lawsuit of its kind filed so far.
“This policy is not a passport policy. It’s an anti-trans policy and the executive order is very clear about that,” ACLU lawyer Li Nowlin-Soul, said after the court hearing. “It's very important to take up this fight because there are so many attacks on trans people right now ... The government has given no justification for why this policy has been put in place.”
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, took the motion under advisement.
In its lawsuit, the ACLU described how one woman had her passport returned with a male designation while others are too scared to submit their passports because they fear their applications might be suspended and their passports held by the State Department. Another mailed in their passport on Jan. 9 and requested a name change and to change their sex designation from male to female. That person is still waiting for their passport — meaning they can't leave Canada where they live and could miss a family wedding in May and a botany conference in July.
“All have faced prior mistreatment due to their gender identities, and they fear that having incorrect sex designations on their passports will cause them further mistreatment — including putting them in danger,” the ACLU wrote.
Before he applied for his new passport, Orr was accused in early January by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration of using fake documents when traveling from West Virginia to New York — since he had a male designation on his driver's license but a female one on his passport. That prompted him to request the updated passport with a sex designation of male — four days before Trump took office.
“We all have a right to accurate identity documents, and this policy invites harassment, discrimination, and violence against transgender Americans who can no longer obtain or renew a passport that matches who they are,” ACLU lawyer Sruti Swaminathan said.
In response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration has argued the passport policy change “does not violate the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution.” They also contend that the president has broad discretion in setting passport policy and that plaintiffs would not be harmed by the policy, since they are still free to travel abroad.
“Some Plaintiffs additionally allege that having inconsistent identification documents will heighten the risk that an official will discover that they are transgender,” the Justice Department wrote. “But the Department is not responsible for Plaintiffs’ choice to change their sex designation for state documents but not their passport.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Kobick pushed back against the government’s argument that plaintiffs would not be harmed and that the policy does not discriminate based on sex. She also raised concerns that the policy could not be seen in isolation but part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to target transgender Americans.
“Do you dispute the recent executive orders take away rights or take away things that transgender people had?” Kobick asked Benjamin Takemoto, the Justice Department lawyer who denied the passport policy was anti-trans, in part because it doesn't mention transgender people.
After the Trump executive order, the State Department quickly stopped issuing travel documents with the “X” gender marker preferred by many nonbinary people, who don’t identify as strictly male or female. The department also stopped allowing people to change the gender listed on their passport or get new ones that reflect their gender rather than their sex assigned at birth.
Applications that had already been submitted seeking gender-marker changes were put on hold. The State Department also replaced its webpage with information for “LGBTQI+” travelers to just “LGB,” removing any reference to transgender or intersex people.
The passport policy is among several actions Trump has taken since returning to office that could stifle rights and legal recognition of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people.
The same order that seeks to define the sexes to exclude them would also require housing transgender women in prison in men’s facilities. Additional orders could open the door to kicking transgender service members out of the military, barring the use of federal taxpayer money to provide gender-affirming care to transgender people under 19 and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women’s sports competitions.
Ash Lazarus Orr, a transgender plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Trump administration's policy that bans the use of the "X" marker used by nonbinary people on passports, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
Ash Lazarus Orr, a transgender plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Trump administration's policy that bans the use of the "X" marker used by nonbinary people on passports, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The announcement was made Friday by the U.S. military. The Trump administration has been targeting sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
The pre-dawn action was carried out by U.S. Marines and Navy, taking part in the monthslong buildup of forces in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina.
Navy officials couldn’t immediately provide details about whether the Coast Guard was part of the force that took control of the vessel as has been the case in the previous seizures. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said there was no immediate comment on the seizure.
The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally following the U.S. ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.
The latest:
Richard Grenell, president of the Kennedy Center, says a documentary film about first lady Melania Trump will make its premiere later this month, posting a trailer on X.
As the Trumps prepared to return to the White House last year, Amazon Prime Video announced a year ago that it had obtained exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release directed by Brett Ratner.
Melania Trump also released a self-titled memoir in late 2024.
Some artists have canceled scheduled Kennedy Center performances after a newly installed board voted to add President Donald Trump’s to the facility, prompting Grenell to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says that she has asked her foreign affairs secretary to reach out directly to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Trump regarding comments by the American leader that the U.S. cold begin ground attacks against drug cartels.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News aired Thursday night, Trump said, “We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch.”
As she has on previous occasions, Sheinbaum downplayed the remarks, saying “it is part of his way of communicating.” She said she asked her Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente to strengthen coordination with the U.S.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s offer to send U.S. troops after Mexican drug cartels. She emphasizes that there will be no violation of Mexico’s sovereignty, but the two governments will continue to collaborate closely.
Analysts do not see a U.S. incursion in Mexico as a real possibility, in part because Sheinbaum’s administration has been doing nearly everything Trump has asked and Mexico is a critical trade partner.
Trump says he wants to secure $100 billion to remake Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a lofty goal going into a 2:30 meeting on Friday with executives from leading oil companies. His plan rides on oil producers being comfortable in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
The president has said that the U.S. will control distribution worldwide of Venezuela’s oil and will share some of the proceeds with the country’s population from accounts that it controls.
“At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is banking on the idea that he can tap more of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves to keep oil prices and gasoline costs low.
At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
Trump is expected to meet with oil executives at the White House on Friday.
He hopes to secure $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s oil industry. The goal rides on the executives’ comfort with investing in a country facing instability and inflation.
Since a U.S. military raid captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has said there’s a new opportunity to use the country’s oil to keep gasoline prices low.
The full list of executives invited to the meeting has not been disclosed, but Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend.
Attorneys general in five Democratic-led states have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration after it said it would freeze money for several public benefit programs.
The Trump administration has cited concerns about fraud in the programs designed to help low-income families and their children. California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and New York states filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit asks the courts to order the administration to release the funds. The attorneys general have called the funding freeze an unconstitutional abuse of power.
Iran’s judiciary chief has vowed decisive punishment for protesters, signaling a coming crackdown against demonstrations.
Iranian state television reported the comments from Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei on Friday. They came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized Trump’s support for the protesters, calling Trump’s hands “stained with the blood of Iranians.”
The government has shut down the internet and is blocking international calls. State media has labeled the demonstrators as “terrorists.”
The protests began over Iran’s struggling economy and have become a significant challenge to the government. Violence has killed at least 50 people, and more than 2,270 have been detained.
Trump questions why a president’s party often loses in midterm elections and suggests voters “want, maybe a check or something”
Trump suggested voters want to check a president’s power and that’s why they often deliver wins for an opposing party in midterm elections, which he’s facing this year.
“There’s something down, deep psychologically with the voters that they want, maybe a check or something. I don’t know what it is, exactly,” he said.
He said that one would expect that after winning an election and having “a great, successful presidency, it would be an automatic win, but it’s never been a win.”
Hiring likely remained subdued last month as many companies have sought to avoid expanding their workforces, though the job gains may be enough to bring down the unemployment rate.
December’s jobs report, to be released Friday, is likely to show that employers added a modest 55,000 jobs, economists forecast. That figure would be below November’s 64,000 but an improvement after the economy lost jobs in October. The unemployment rate is expected to slip to 4.5%, according to data provider FactSet, from a four-year high of 4.6% in November.
The figures will be closely watched on Wall Street and in Washington because they will be the first clean readings on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.
FILE - President Donald Trump dances as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
