WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared that the “war on women’s sports is over” when signing an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sporting events on Wednesday. 

“From now on, women's sports will be only for women," Trump said at a ceremony in the White House East Room.

The move marks the fulfillment of a campaign pledge for the commander in chief, who promised to get rid of "transgender insanity," and a victory for Republicans who have sought to put a major focus on the issue even as sporting officials have said transgender athletes represent a minute percentage of competitors.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and a number of congressional Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, were in the audience for the signing. 

Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to "keep men out of women's sports" resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.

The signing of the measure titled “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order,” adds to a list of actions Trump has taken in his first three weeks in office regarding transgender people. In one of the most significant changes, he put out a sweeping order on his first day in office last month that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments.

Wednesday's order — which coincides with National Girls and Women in Sports Day — includes specifics on how his administration will interpret Title IX, the law best known for its role in pursuing gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.

"With my action this afternoon we’re putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice that if you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump said. 

Earlier, during Wednesday's White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president “expects” the Olympic committee and the NCAA to follow the order.

“I think the president with the signing of his pen starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls across the country,” she said. 

Last year, NCAA president Charlie Baker, the former GOP governor of Massachusetts, testified to the Senate that he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes out of the more than 510,000 under his jurisdiction in college sports. Baker told Republican senators in December that the organization would follow federal law. The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. 

Trump also said that Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will “deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the Games.”

The United State Olympic and Paralympic Committee and organizers for the 2028 Olympics did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Every administration has the authority to issue its own interpretations of the landmark Title IX  legislation. The last two presidential administrations — including Trump's first — offer a glimpse at the push-pull involved.

Betsy DeVos, the education secretary during Trump's first term, issued a Title IX policy in 2020 that narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and required colleges to investigate claims only if they're reported to certain officials.

The Biden administration rolled back that policy last April with one of its own that stipulated the rights of LGBTQ+ students would be protected by federal law and provided new safeguards for victims of campus sexual assault. The policy stopped short of explicitly addressing transgender athletes. Still, more than a half-dozen Republican-led states immediately challenged the new rule in court.

"All Trump has to say is, 'We are going to read the regulation traditionally,'" said Doriane Lambelet Coleman, a professor at Duke Law School.

Trump was joined on stage at Wednesday’s ceremony by female athletes, including young girls in sports uniforms as well as former University of Kentucky collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who Trump noted has been “at the forefront of this battle.” He asked the children to gather around him when he officially signed the order. They shouted thank you to the president as he left the room. 

How this order could affect the transgender athlete population — a number that is incredibly difficult to pin down — is uncertain.

The Associated Press reported in 2021 that in many cases, the states introducing a ban on transgender athletes could not cite instances where their participation was an issue.

Wednesday's order is the latest of a series of moves by the Trump administration targeting transgender people.