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As Donald Trump鈥檚 second presidency gets underway, grassroots organizers are steeling themselves to protect their communities from anti-trans policies and rhetoric. There is already work to be done. 

After into anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ ads during the election, Trump spent the first few weeks in office signing a number of rapid-fire executive orders. The , issued on inauguration day, attempted to limit the definition of sex to male and female only. Others followed suit, banning trans people from , , and rescinding .

Taken together, these executive orders target everything from the and to basic, life-saving health care.

鈥淸An executive order] doesn鈥檛 carry the force of law itself,鈥� says Sruti Swaminathan, a staff attorney at the ACLU. Indeed, opposition is mounting as these orders face significant logistical and . But, Swaminathan says, the impact is felt immediately through a 鈥渃hilling effect鈥� that and emboldens their detractors鈥攃ultural sentiments that can鈥檛 be challenged in the court of law.

For trans people, especially those existing at the intersection of multiple identities, the impact of anti-trans policies and rhetoric doesn鈥檛 trickle down into their lives so much as it opens the floodgates for harm.

鈥溾�奍t鈥檚 got the pressure of a fire hose being sprayed, and it鈥檚 not being filtered in. It鈥檚 beating into our existence,鈥� says Nish Newton, an organizer for the Idaho-based organization (BLC). Simple tasks like running errands, seeing friends, and other essential, enriching parts of life can feel out of reach for trans people right now. 鈥淎 lot of folks don鈥檛 even feel like they can leave their homes.鈥�

Since 2020, there has been a swell of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation, all running parallel to attacks on reproductive care, , and education. According to , there are already 329 active anti-trans bills across 40 states in 2025. Though some of this legislation may pass, it is important to note that the , in part due to their own unpopularity and the dedicated work of organizers. (The in both the Senate and the House, which also may make it challenging to enact Trump鈥檚 agenda.)

Now, grassroots organizations鈥攕pecifically those led by and with trans people鈥攁re uniquely poised to not only help their communities weather the storm but also challenge the policies and attitudes that harm trans people in the first place.

鈥淚 see the moment as an opportunity. An opportunity for trans leaders to really, really get engaged, unite, and speak in one voice,鈥� says Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of , a LGBTQ grassroots organization working in New York City, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. 鈥淔olks that understand history know that we鈥檝e seen some of these tactics before, so that means there are ways to push back.鈥�

On the Front Lines

Political actions on聽the state and federal level have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of trans people. Bathroom bills, for example, which require people to use the restroom based on the sex assigned to them at birth, can mean that trans people have to plan their days around when they will use the restroom or risk potential harm.聽

鈥淵ou learn to navigate systems and places early when you are trans,鈥� says TC Caldwell, executive director of , a Black trans- and queer-led organization in Alabama. 鈥淚 make sure to use the bathroom before I go out to eat or shop. Why? Because most places don鈥檛 have gender-neutral bathrooms. If I do have to go, I go to the bathroom of the gender I鈥檓 called the most for that day because safety is our priority when going out as trans people.鈥�

But in reciprocal fashion, grassroots actions鈥攑roviding mutual care, building resources, and developing effective programming鈥攃an ripple upward and bring systemic and cultural change.

鈥淲e know our communities best,鈥� says Caldwell. 鈥淲e are on the front lines, responding to crises in real time while also working to dismantle the systemic barriers that create those crises.鈥澛�

According to Caldwell, TKO Society uses a mutual aid and care-based approach to provide comprehensive health and wellness services to their community. 鈥淲e focus on building networks of trust and support, leverage community knowledge to design programs that actually work.鈥� 

Caldwell says the care coordination program, for example, has helped hundreds of people access affirming health care and secure stable housing. 鈥淲e鈥檙e expanding those efforts by partnering with other grassroots collectives to scale up.鈥�

鈥淲hen people are turned away from shelters or denied health care because of their identity, we step in鈥攏ot just to provide immediate support but to advocate for systemic change through education, coalition-building, and policy work,鈥� says Caldwell. 鈥淭his approach isn鈥檛 just about filling gaps. It鈥檚 about building infrastructure that uplifts and empowers marginalized people.鈥�

And unlike top-down charities or larger, more hierarchical organizations, grassroots networks have the ability to adapt in real time to the changing needs of their communities. 

BLC organizer Nish Newton says their organization used to rely on a mutual-aid-focused model of fundraising, but soon they found that 鈥淸the model] wasn鈥檛 really proactively pouring into folks and sustaining their wellness.鈥� To move away from this more 鈥渞eactive,鈥� emergency-based model, BLC launched a guaranteed-income program in 2023, BLC PWR, which provides Black trans Idahoans with $1,000 monthly stipends.聽

This year, Newton says they are already reimagining the program to better respond to their community鈥檚 feedback around financial support and other direct services. 鈥淚t has been really, really beautiful in a lot of ways to shed our skin every year, and it doesn鈥檛 really fit into the mold of a lot of traditional organizations,鈥� says Newton. 鈥溾�奍t鈥檚 an innovative way of existing, but essentially we make ourselves and we break ourselves every year.鈥�

Trans Rights Start Close to Home

In addition to providing direct services, there are a few main ways grassroots organizers push back against transphobic policies at the federal level鈥攁nd much of it starts close to home.

Though it may sound simple, this type of relationship-building鈥攅specially with Congressional members who vote on 鈥攃an help set a political agenda that鈥檚 actually aligned with the overall country鈥檚 expressed desires. (After all, most voters, , think the government should be less involved in legislating the lives of trans people, according to a by Data for Progress.)

Destination Tomorrow founder Coleman says speaking to elected officials about funding, policy work, and anti-trans legislation helps who otherwise may not truly understand the scope and impact of these initiatives. 鈥淚f [elected officials] don鈥檛 see [trans people] as their constituents, I think it鈥檚 easy to harm us,鈥� Coleman says. 鈥淲hen folks pass these ridiculous laws, executive orders in this case, it is done without the thought of how it鈥檚 honestly going to impact people.鈥�

This manner of networking also allows advocates to play offense, nudging policymakers to introduce bills that would both enshrine and expand rights for trans people. Currently, 14 states and the District of Columbia have that protect access to gender-affirming care, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Two additional states, Arizona and New Jersey, have protective executive orders in place. 

Introducing protective policies at the local, state, and federal levels makes it harder for new transphobic legislation to take root鈥攁nd if there are more progressive LGBTQ elected officials, then more protective, trans-affirming policies will possibly be passed. In Minnesota, for example, the state鈥檚 first openly trans legislator, Rep. Leigh Finke, made sure a was a priority among Democratic leadership. And despite an attempted filibuster from opponents, the bill passed both the state鈥檚 House and Senate.聽

In 2023, Minnesota鈥檚 鈥渢rans refuge鈥� law , offering protection to patients and clinicians seeking gender-affirming care, including those coming from out of state. 鈥淗undreds of people and families within the first six months moved to Minnesota,鈥� Finke told NPR. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure that鈥檚 a major undercount.鈥�

In the Courts

Despite these efforts, some anti-trans legislation will surely pass. When proposed anti-trans legislation becomes laws, litigation offers an important guardrail against discrimination. Litigation, which resolves rights-based disputes through the courts, can retroactively challenge unjust policies, enforce civil rights laws, and set far-reaching legal precedents. 

Lawsuits start at the local or state level and can flow upriver, all the way to the Supreme Court. In 2023, three families of trans minors and a medical doctor in Tennessee filed a lawsuit to challenge the state鈥檚 law banning gender-affirming care for minors. 

Though the court鈥檚 ruling is still forthcoming, the impact of litigation similar to聽 is twofold. Not only does the case question the legal basis of harmful, transphobic legislation, but it also provides a platform for trans people to that counter far-right fear mongering. In other words, these cases are not just legal proceedings. They are tried in the court of public opinion, too.

By mobilizing public support on behalf of vulnerable trans youth and naming bullying for what it is, ACLU staff attorney Sruti Swaminathan says it is possible to deter further policies and 鈥渞eshape the political narrative around trans people in general, but also what rights we deserve.鈥�

There鈥檚 no denying that these strategies鈥攅ducating officials, introducing protective policies, litigating anti-trans discrimination, and shifting cultural narratives鈥攁re hard and slow-moving, sometimes taking years to come to fruition. Part of the value of grassroots organizations is that they tend to their communities now while still planting the seeds for a future where all trans people can thrive. 

鈥淓very time someone gets connected to life-saving care, or finds a stable place to live, or even just feels seen and affirmed by their community, we鈥檙e chipping away at the systems designed to erase us,鈥� says TKO Society founder TC Caldwell. 鈥淎 big part of our work is to remind people that no one is disposable, and we prove that change is possible when we fight for each other.鈥�