Watch: White House Press Secretary Explains 'Trans Rights are Human Rights'
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki boiled down what "message" the Biden administration was sending with the president's signing of an executive order regarding school athletics: "Trans rights are human rights."
U.K. newspaper The Independent reported on Psaki's comments, which were part of an exchange between herself and Fox News reporter Rachel Sutherland, who asked Psaki, "what message would the White House have to trans girls and cis girls who may end up competing against each other?"
When Psaki asked Sutherland to clarify her questions, the Fox News reporter asked, "Is there any kind of messaging or clarification that the White House wants to give on the executive order?"
"I would just say that the president's belief is that trans rights are human rights, and that's why he signed that executive order," Psaki replied. "In terms of the determinations by universities and colleges I would certainly defer to them.'
The Independent noted that the executive order, which President Biden signed last month, is titled "Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation," and noted that it would "extend a broader application of the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County ruling which mandated that LGBTQ people are protected from sex discrimination in the workplace."
"Mr Biden's executive order builds on the Supreme Court's decision by extending protections to students by prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded schools," the newspaper clarified.
The Independent noted that "The executive order does not directly tie federal funds to schools allowing for students who were born biologically male to compete in female sports.... But it does mandate that all students, including transgender children, should be able to learn without experiencing sexual discrimination, including by participating in 'school sports'."
Advocates have held up the order as an indication that the Biden administration intends to abide by the president's promises to uphold equality and treat LGBTQ issues as a matter of respecting the rule of law.
The Independent cited the ACLU's deputy director for transgender justice, Chase Strangio, who said that "all the newly-elected president did was lay out what the law is and agree, unlike his predecessor, to follow it."
Watch the C-SPAN video clip of the exchange below.