President Trump is kickstarting a legal fight that could lead to the banning of hormone therapies and sex change operations for minors who say they are transgender. Starting with an executive order late on Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s move is likely to start a protracted legal battle in federal court. 

Mr. Trump issued an executive order Tuesday afternoon that would stop all federal support for so-called “gender affirming care” procedures used to transition minors from one sex to another. The order directs that federally-run insurance programs, including TRICARE for military families and Medicaid, exclude coverage for such care.

“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the executive order states. 

The federal government, specifically, will not disperse any money or support for “puberty blockers,” “sex hormones,” or “surgical procedures … that attempt to transform an individual’s physical appearance to align with an identity that differs from his or her sex or that attempt to alter or remove an individual’s sexual organs to minimize or destroy their natural biological functions.”

The order will almost assuredly be fought in federal court in the coming days and weeks, as many executive actions are. Even today, issues related to healthcare for transgender individuals are being considered by judges. The Supreme Court is already set to rule this term on the validity of a Tennessee law barring the use of hormones for gender transitions for minors. 

Tuesday’s move is one of many executive actions related to transgender ideology taken by the president since returning to the Oval Office. Mr. Trump has declared that it is the position of the federal government that there are only two genders — male and female — and that individuals cannot legally change their sex or gender.

Also on Tuesday, the president issued an order directing the Secretary of Defense to draft new Pentagon policies that would consider barring transgender individuals from serving in the military, saying troops identifying as a gender other than their biological one may conflict “with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.