Caitlyn Jenner has publicly revealed that she wrote a personal letter to Donald Trump seeking his assistance after her passport was reissued listing her sex as male, despite having spent years legally updating all of her identification documents to reflect her gender transition.
The 76-year-old former Olympic champion disclosed the situation during an appearance on Tomi Lahren’s podcast, explaining that the problem emerged when her passport expired and was renewed following Trump’s executive order declaring that the United States would recognise only two sexes — male and female — with government-issued documents required to reflect a person’s sex at conception. The State Department subsequently suspended processing of passport applications seeking a change of gender marker.
Jenner said she had worked extensively with a law firm prior to the policy change to ensure all her documentation, including her birth certificate, passport and global entry clearance, correctly reflected her transition. “I worked very, very hard,” she said. “I made sure everything was changed from M to F, right down to my birth certificate. All my documentation was right.”
When her renewed passport arrived marked male, she submitted formal paperwork including a hard copy of her amended birth certificate to the State Department in an attempt to have it corrected. The documents were returned without any change being made.
Having exhausted those avenues, Jenner said she travelled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate around two months ago and left a handwritten letter for the president outlining how the policy was affecting her and others in a similar position. Trump was not present that weekend, though a Secret Service officer told her the letter could be placed on his desk. She has not received a response.
Despite her frustration, Jenner was careful to distance herself from any criticism of the president. “I’m not blaming him whatsoever. I love the guy, and I love what he’s doing,” she said, while describing the passport issue as a practical safety concern given how frequently identification is required in daily life. “Today, documentation is extremely important. Every time you turn around, you gotta show ID.”
Jenner’s case is far from unique. Euphoria actress Hunter Schafer has similarly reported that her passport was amended to reflect her sex at birth after she submitted renewal paperwork. According to the Williams Institute, an estimated 476,000 transgender adults across the United States currently hold identification documents that do not accurately reflect their gender, a situation that can create significant complications when travelling, passing through security checkpoints, or completing routine identity checks.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
