The former Olympian and prominent transgender public figure says she remains a supporter of President Donald Trump even after a recent bureaucratic reversal left her passport listing a different sex. Jenner — who has publicly backed Trump and has said she voted for him in both 2016 and 2026 — reports that a routine renewal returned with the letter “M” as the gender marker, despite years of documentation showing her as female.
Her account places a personal wrinkle on a broader policy change: an executive order signed on Jan. 20, 2026 directs federal agencies to reflect a person’s sex assigned at birth on official records. The State Department has implemented rules that only allow passports to display an M or F that corresponds to that biological assignment, and related guidance for visa applicants has raised urgent questions about travel, safety and legal exposure for transgender and gender-diverse people.
How the passport mix-up unfolded
Jenner says she invested considerable effort years earlier to align her records across agencies, working with legal counsel to update her birth certificate and other identity documents so that passports and credentials like Global Entry reflected female status. When her passport reached its renewal date she mailed the old passport back and expected a straightforward replacement. Instead, the returned document bore an “M” marker.
Attempts to fix the record
According to Jenner, she submitted correction forms and physically provided her amended birth certificate to the State Department, but the new passport still arrived listing male sex. She described the outcome as more than an administrative inconvenience, calling it a safety factor that now prevents her from traveling internationally. Jenner also says she tried a direct appeal to President Trump while at Mar-a-Lago, leaving a written explanation that a Secret Service staffer offered to place on his desk; she reports she has not received a personal response.
The policy context and its implications
The administration’s directive — formalised by an executive order on Jan. 20, 2026 — requires that federal documentation reflect the biological sex at birth, effectively removing nonbinary or updated gender markers such as an “X marker” from passports and other records. The policy has provoked legal challenges and public outcry, with several well-known transgender figures reporting they were denied female passports or confronted with mismatched documents. Critics contend the approach ignores the real-world risks posed when an individual’s travel papers conflict with the gender they present.
Travel warnings and wider response
Advocacy groups and foreign travel advisers have urged caution for gender-diverse travellers. Organisations including Equality Australia have warned of serious risks for visitors at borders and recommended seeking guidance from consular services or legal advisers before travel. The State Department’s additional rules for visa applications, finalised in March, emphasise disclosure of sex assigned at birth for many applicants — a move that advocates fear could lead to cancelled visas or penalties for transgender people who updated their records years ago.
Politics, public reaction and next steps
Jenner’s situation highlights an unusual political paradox: a public figure who supports the president and yet is directly affected by one of his administration’s signature policy shifts. She has publicly stated she does not blame President Trump personally and expressed ongoing support for his broader agenda, while seeking a practical way to resolve her passport’s designation. Online reaction to her predicament has been mixed, with some commentators pointing to the predictable consequences of the policy and others expressing sympathy for the security concerns she raises.
At present, the practical resolution remains unclear. Jenner’s case joins a string of similar complaints that keep questions about administrative procedures, legal challenges and border safety in the spotlight. For transgender and gender-diverse travellers, the combination of the State Department’s passport rule and new visa-related requirements has created increased uncertainty, and advocacy groups continue to urge affected people to obtain specific consular or legal advice before planning international travel.