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A newly proposed rule within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would target transgender people, allowing federally funded shelters and housing providers receiving funds from the government to discriminate on the basis of gender.

The HUD proposal purportedly “harmonizes” the department’s existing Equal Access regulations with President Donald Trump’s anti-transgender executive order he issued on the first day of his second term. That order errantly equates gender with sex, and has been challenged in other realms of the federal government for its discriminatory nature.

The rule change would remove terms like “gender” and “gender identity,” replacing them instead with the word “sex.” Gender is generally understood as “a social construct expressed and reinforced by norms, behaviors, and roles assigned to people based on their perceived sex,” and is understood by scientists as not being binary, whereas sex is based on an individual’s arrangement of chromosomes.

The HUD proposal would allow housing partners of the federal government to resume discrimination against people seeking housing based on gender, rolling back standards that were implemented during the Obama administration.

The change appears to be religiously motivated, as HUD Secretary Scott Turner — a noted Christian nationalist — announced the proposed rule by citing his personal beliefs.

“God created two sexes: male and female,” Turner said. “The Left’s war on biological reality through radical gender ideology will no longer take precedence.”

Notably, Turner had already directed the department to stop enforcing current rules protecting people from discrimination based on gender last year. The rule change formalizes that action.

Research demonstrates that transgender people face enormous difficulties in securing housing, with one study from 2022 demonstrating that nearly one-third of trans people have been unhoused in their lifetimes.

Deborah Thrope, chief program officer for the National Housing Law Project, decried the new HUD proposal, stating that it is a “baseless assault by the Trump administration” against LGBTQ people.

Describing the rule as a “cruel proposal,” Thrope added:

Not only will the proposed policies directly harm families and communities, they will increase costs for state and local governments, hospital systems, and social services agencies by forcing more housing insecure people to live on the street rather than in shelter.

“Our country has the resources to ensure that all of us have a roof over our heads, and we are steadfast in our commitment to fight alongside LGBTQ+ tenants and neighbors until we’re all stably housed,” Thrope said.