On Sunday June 28, the Detroit Free Press shared the story of Jackie Nicholls, a transgender woman from west Michigan, who opened up about how she realized she’s trans and how life changed for her during and after her transition. You can read the story here and learn more about her life in the video above.
Today, we’re sharing some of the key ways life has changed for transgender people in Michigan and across the country. Much of that change is happening in government. Transgender people have become a target of the administration of President Donald Trump as well as by state legislators.
Through executive orders, government investigations and threats of pulling federal monies, here are some of the most significant actions that have been taken against a group that accounts for an estimated 1% of the nation’s population.
Trump: Transgender people don’t exist
On Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, Trump issued an executive order called Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. According to this order, the U.S. recognizes two genders — male and female ― and those were assigned at birth. It removes the ability of transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming or intersex people to use an X as their gender marker on U.S. passports. All new, renewed or replaced passports must now identify the holder by the gender they were assigned at birth.
Critics of this move say passports that don’t reflect one’s gender identity can result in delays and also pose a danger to travelers who show up with documentation that is at odds with their appearance and identity.
Federal government vs. six Michigan school districts
In February, the Department of Justice announced it is investigating three Michigan school districts to determine whether they have included “sexual orientation and gender ideology” content in any of their classes without giving parents the opportunity to opt out their children. The DOJ is also investigating whether the schools — Detroit Public Schools Community District, the Lansing School District, and the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools — allowed transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, which it said would be a violation of Title IX.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on one’s sex in schools that receive federal monies.
“This Department of Justice is fiercely committed to ending the growing trend of local school authorities embedding sexuality and gender ideology in every aspect of public education,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the news release distributed when the investigations were announced. “Supreme Court precedent is clear: parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children, which includes exempting them from ideological instruction which conflicts with their families’ sincerely held religious beliefs.”
The DOJ has said if it finds the districts have violated Title IX it would work to resolve the situation by “informal voluntary means.” But it added: that if it can’t secure voluntary compliance from the districts, it could take formal action that could involve, among other measures, terminating federal funding.
All three districts are financially needy, which means their budgets rely heavily on federal funding.
Taryn Gal, executive director of the advocacy group Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health said when the DOJ sent letters to the districts: “The immediate risk is preemptive compliance. When districts believe federal funding could be at risk, they may scale back inclusive education, student supports, or policies that help LGBTQ+ students feel safe and connected at school.”
Meanwhile, on June 18, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced it is investigating three other Michigan school districts. The goal: to determine whether the districts ― Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools and the Chippewa Valley School District, which serves students in Clinton Township and Macomb Township ― violated Title IX by allowing transgender students to participate in sports or use locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity rather than the gender they were assigned at birth.
In a news release, the government said it had received a complaint that Ann Arbor schools allowed a transgender girl to compete on one of its volleyball teams for girls and also allowed the girl to use female-only locker rooms.
In Monroe, the government said the school district allegedly required members of the girls volleyball team to play against an opposing team with a transgender girl on its roster and allegedly forced team members to share a locker room. Late last year, the father of a Monroe volleyball player filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S Education Department, making the same charges. An independent investigator found the district was not in violation of Title IX.
The government said Chippewa Valley allegedly allowed a transgender male student to use the boys locker room.
Critics of these moves say the government is bullying vulnerable students who need to feel welcome and connected to their school environments. They also say the government is trying to wrestle curriculum control from local boards.
Federal government vs. hospitals
Even though many experts say that providing transgender young people with hormone treatment and puberty blockers, reduces depression and suicidality, Trump has opened investigations against health care systems, threatened prosecution of doctors and the withholding of federal funding ― such as Medicaid and Medicare payments — from hospitals that offer gender-affirming care for minors.
In August of 2025, Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s health care system, received a federal subpoena as part of a criminal and civil investigation into gender-affirming care for minors.
Facing government pressure, Michigan Medicine ceased providing such treatment for minors.
Corewell Health, the state’s largest health care system, has also stopped provided gender-affirming care for minors.
Critics say the government is seeking to control health care decisions that should be left up to patients and their doctor and that it is also endangering the wellbeing of transgender young people.
Chalkbeat Detroit contributed to this story. Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Three key ways life has changed for transgender Michiganders
Reporting by Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
