As of last Wednesday, the State Department has suspended a gender-affirming identification option on all American passports.

According to a memo obtained by NBC News, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the State Department to suspend any passport applications seeking to either “change a sex marker” or “requesting an ‘X’ sex marker.”

In the memo, Rubio cited an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, which states that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” 

Rubio’s memo to the State Department noted that the executive order “specifies government-issued identification documents shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.” Here’s what to know about how the new passport rules will impact trans and nonbinary Americans: 

The Biden administration officially added an “X” gender marker to passports in April 2022 as an alternative to the standard “male” and “female” designations. At the time, the State Department explained that the “X” was added to ensure that........

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