Trump Orders End to Federal Support for Transgender Healthcare for Minors

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, US, January 23, 2025./File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, US, January 23, 2025./File Photo
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Trump Orders End to Federal Support for Transgender Healthcare for Minors

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, US, January 23, 2025./File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, US, January 23, 2025./File Photo

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered an end to all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids the transition of transgender youth, the latest in a series of actions limiting transgender rights in his first eight days in office.

The executive order, which is certain to face legal challenges, follows another executive order banning transgender people from service in the armed forces and others that appeal to Trump's most conservative supporters by limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The order fulfills a campaign promise to end "child sexual mutilation," an apparent reference to transgender-related healthcare such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy that help people transition from one gender to another.

"It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures," Trump's executive order said.

Trump supporters such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian law firm, applauded the order as "a refreshing return to sanity," while opponents such as Marci Bowers, a gynecologist and surgeon who provides transgender care, declared Trump would "have blood on his hands."



Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

President Tayyip Erdogan accused Türkiye's top business association, TUSIAD, of meddling in politics and undermining the government on Wednesday, piling pressure on a group already being investigated over an executive's remarks on democracy. Speaking to his ruling AK Party in the parliament, Erdogan said TUSIAD had "overstepped" and he dismissed it as a remnant of the past that had thrived on economic privilege and political influence.

"TUSIAD's mentality is a symbol of weak governments in Türkiye's past (and it is) full of businessmen who have grown under the shadow of unfair profits and privileges at the expense of the nation," he said.

"They once dictated politics through newspaper headlines. We put an end to that. We did not recognize any power above the will of the people," he said, accusing the group of fueling political instability and attempting to pressure the government. TUSIAD executive Omer Aras, who is the chairman of QNB's Turkish banking unit, last week criticized a government crackdown on dissenting figures, saying the probes into opposition leaders and journalists had shaken trust and damaged democracy. In response, a prosecutor's office opened an investigation into his remarks, prompting a drop in Istanbul-listed stocks. On Wednesday, Istanbul's prosecutors' office expanded the probe to include TUSIAD President Orhan Turhan, citing his statements at the group's general assembly as "misleading and disruptive to public order."

A statement on Wednesday from the Istanbul prosecutor's office said Aras and Turhan were under investigation for "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "publicly spreading misleading information," and that authorities had ordered them to appear for questioning. TUSIAD, whose members account for 85% of Türkiye's foreign trade and 80% of the country's corporate tax revenue, said on Tuesday it was working for national interests.

It did not address the investigation into Aras directly and did not immediately comment on Erdogan's remarks.

Erdogan said his government has raised per-capita income, built roads and spread prosperity since coming to power more than two decades ago. "As long as we are in power, no one will bring back the old system where a handful of elites siphoned off state resources," he said.

Opposition lawmakers have faced a wave of arrests, detentions and probes in the last few months that critics say aim to silence dissent and weaken Erdogan's rivals' electoral prospects. The government dismisses this accusation and says the judiciary is independent.