“Federal data on sexual orientation and gender identity are essential for understanding LGBTQ populations in the United States,” said the author of a study about the government's new approach to data collection
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NEED TO KNOW
- The Trump administration has erased hundreds of questions relating to LGBTQ+ identity on federal surveys, according to a new study
- Researchers warn that the lack of data on the queer community will tangibly affect the resources available to LGBTQ+ individuals
- The changes come amid the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community
The Trump administration has been removing questions relating to LGBTQ+ identities on federal surveys, according to a new study.
A February 2026 study by the UCLA Williams Institute determined that the federal government has removed at least one measure of sexual orientation and gender identity in about 360 data collections. The erasure of LGBTQ+ questions comes after President Donald Trump's January 2025 executive order that only male and female gender identities would be federally recognized.
About 94% of data measures removed related to gender identity, apparently as the result of Trump's executive order. Additionally, 60 data measures relating to sexual orientation were removed, though the initial executive order did not make any mandates regarding sexual orientation.
Mentions of sexual orientation and/or gender identity were scrubbed from 23 bias motivation surveys, preventing people from reporting discrimination based on either, the researchers explained.
“Federal data on sexual orientation and gender identity are essential for understanding LGBTQ populations in the United States,” said Lauren Bouton, the lead author of the UCLA study, in a statement to The Advocate. “These data allow us to identify disparities in health, economics, and exposure to violence among a group that’s been shown to be disproportionately at risk of these outcomes. Only then can we begin to address those realities with solutions such as more effective programming and the allocation of resources.”
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The lack of questions about LGBTQ+ identity will cause a lack of updated information about the community and, over time, make queer people less visible to the government.
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“Reliable data collection is fundamental to how the federal government identifies and responds to community needs,” Elana Redfield, co-author of the study and federal policy director at the Williams Institute, told The Advocate. “Eliminating [sexual orientation and gender identity] measures weakens the government’s ability to track disparities and document and prevent discrimination."
"The full impact will become clearer over time as existing data becomes outdated and new data is no longer collected," Redfield added.
The change in data collection comes amid the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ history, visibility and rights.
Since January 2025, the administration has banned transgender people from serving in the military, shut down the LGBTQ+ Youth suicide hotline, and removed LGBTQ+ imagery like the pride flag at the Stonewall Monument and the rainbow crosswalk in Orlando (both which honored victims of hate crimes).
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