“Promises made, promises kept.”

That has been one of the common slogans used by President Trump and his campaign for the last several years. Once again, the Trump administration has taken action to make good on a promise he made in a campaign speech in October, where he said, “I will take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female.”

On Wednesday, in honor of “Detrans Awareness Day,” Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon hosted a group of six detransitioners to discuss their stories and the hardships they experienced in their attempts to impersonate the opposite gender.

The department posted a press release on its website describing details of the event. According to the agency, the “listening session” included attendees sharing “their experiences regarding gender ideology and so-called ‘gender medicine’ with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Department of Education (ED) officials, and a representative from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).” The meeting also served as a forum for discussions of strategy on how to implement Trump’s agenda and how to “protect young people from the dangers and harms associated with gender ideology.” 

Secretary McMahon said, “We were honored yesterday to welcome this group to the Department of Education. I commend the young people in attendance for bravely sharing their experiences — and the medical and mental health professionals and parents for their tireless advocacy.”

McMahon expressed being particularly disturbed by the role educators have taken in influencing children toward transgenderism. She continued, “No teacher should attempt to persuade or coerce a student to undergo a gender transition. No parent should be lied to or prevented from knowing what is going on with their child’s mental or physical health. We stand firmly alongside parents, professionals, advocates, and especially de-transitioners, who understand firsthand the damage caused by indoctrinating kids to believe that they can ever be ‘born in the wrong body.’”

In its first few months, the Trump administration has voiced its commitment to restoring and protecting parental rights in education. The White House made their stance abundantly clear by saying, “Imprinting anti-American, subversive, harmful, and false ideologies on our Nation’s children not only violates longstanding anti-discrimination civil rights law in many cases, but usurps basic parental authority. For example, steering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement or allowing males access to private spaces designated for females may contravene Federal laws that protect parental rights, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and sex-based equality and opportunity, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).”

The department’s recent meeting is indicative of a further policy and tonal shift in the federal government since Trump took office. The change began on his first day when, in his inauguration speech, he announced, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” Even more recently, at his joint address before Congress, Trump proclaimed to the nation, “Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”

Trump’s statement came in direct contrast with President Biden’s message to children he made on X, where he said, “To transgender Americans of all ages, I want you to know that you are so brave. You belong. I have your back.” In a video included in the post, he added, “To parents of transgender children, affirming your child’s identity is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep them safe and healthy.”

Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, told the Washington Stand, “The entire Biden administration took pride in promoting the lie that children can be born in the wrong body, especially at the Department of Education where Secretary Cardona hosted a relative who identified as the opposite sex for a promotional video. To see Secretary McMahon’s genuine care and concern for the detransitioner community is a welcome contrast.”

The Department of Education has already implemented several policy changes on the topic of transgenderism. Last month, the department notified its employees via email that programs that “fail to affirm the reality of biological sex” would be shut down. The email added, “These corrective measures will include thorough review and subsequent termination of Departmental programs, contracts, policies, outward-facing media, regulations, and internal practices.”

Kilgannon praised the department’s changes, saying, “The shift is palpable: from sexual revolutionaries to common-sense leadership that values parents, families, teachers, and communities in the service of learning and student achievement.”

Zachary Gohl serves as an intern at Family Research Council.