FDA and NIH Enforce Legal Name Policy Following Trump-Era Gender Identity Order
Employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are now required to use their legal names in official government systems, following the implementation of a Trump administration executive order that rolled back protections for transgender individuals.
The policy primarily impacts transgender staff who use names that reflect their gender identity rather than their legal names. However, the directive also affects a broader group, including married women using their maiden names professionally, individuals who go by middle names or initials, and those who use shortened versions of their first names—such as “Jim” instead of “James.”
The move goes further than a January directive from the Office of Personnel Management, which instructed federal agencies to remove contracts and materials related to gender identity and disable email platform features that prompt users for pronouns.
Both the FDA and NIH fall under the Department of Health and Human Services, which has aligned its internal systems with the administration’s broader rollback of gender identity recognition across federal policy.
White House, HHS Silent as Agencies Enforce Legal Name Mandate
Media representatives for the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY. The FDA, which refers all press inquiries to HHS, also declined to provide a statement.
Internal Memos Reveal Policy Origin
According to internal documents reviewed by USA TODAY, the directive stems from agency-level memos. A March 14 memo sent to FDA employees outlined that, under HHS policy, staff must use their “full legal name” in all official email signatures. The memo also explicitly prohibited the inclusion of pronouns or any name variation the agency deems a “nickname.”
Memos Cite Trump Executive Order on Gender Policy
The FDA memo stated the change was in response to President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The order asserts that the federal government recognizes only two sexes—male and female—defined at conception.
On March 13, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases issued a similar directive to staff, giving employees until the end of the day to remove pronouns and “nicknames” from their email signatures. The memo mandated the use of full legal names only and cited guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services as the basis for the policy.
NIH Memo Removes “Preferred Name” Options, Warns of Consequences
On March 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a memo notifying staff that “preferred name” fields would be removed from an internal contact database to align with the Department of Health and Human Services’ policy on “nicknames,” as well as the Trump administration’s Defending Women executive order.
The message also cautioned employees against attempting to change their legal names in the system, stating: “Please be aware that any change to your legal name in [the database] will trigger a new background check and a new HHS badge request.”
Impact on Transgender Employees
“This shows just how far they’re willing to go to push an anti-trans agenda,” said Adrian Shanker, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden and a key figure in LGBTQ+ policy development.
An NIH employee, speaking anonymously due to fear of retaliation, condemned the policy as a direct attack on transgender staff. “It completely undermines the agency’s long-standing culture of trans inclusion,” the employee said.
Shanker emphasized the disconnect between the policy and the agency’s scientific culture. “They work with scientists, and scientists tend to be people who understand the basics of human diversity,” he said. “That’s why the agency historically built a workforce committed to inclusivity—and that’s part of what makes this so shocking.”
Lindsay Dhanani, an associate professor of human resource management at Rutgers University, underscored the emotional toll of the policy. “Choosing a name and pronouns is a significant and affirming step for transgender individuals,” she said. “When people around them refuse to acknowledge those choices, it can cause deep psychological harm.”
Dhanani highlighted that refusing to honor a person’s chosen name or pronouns is one of the most prevalent forms of transphobia. Such actions can contribute to serious mental health consequences, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in some cases, suicide.
However, she pointed out that organizations which encourage employees to bring their whole selves to work are often more productive and can enhance their reputation as employers of choice. A 2017 study published in Human Resource Management found that fostering inclusivity leads to better outcomes for both employees and companies.
Meanwhile, another NIH employee, speaking anonymously out of fear of retaliation, described the confusion caused by the new policy. Colleagues were unable to locate her in the employee database because she has always used her maiden name at work for consistency in her scientific publications, even though her legal name is her married name.
USA TODAY requested a full copy of the Department of Health and Human Services’ policy on “nicknames,” referenced in the NIH and FDA memos, but the department did not provide it. Instead, it directed the newspaper to a press release addressing what the administration terms “gender ideology.”
Restoring “Biological Truth”
“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the release. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”
Trump’s executive order mandates that federal agencies ensure identification documents, such as passports and visas, “accurately reflect” a person’s biological sex. The order also criticized the 2020 Supreme Court ruling, which made it illegal for employers to fire someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, the order tasked the Attorney General with “correcting the misapplication” of this decision.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a directive requiring agencies to “disband or cancel” employee resource groups that promote gender ideology. It also directed agencies to designate bathrooms based on “biological sex,” rather than gender identity, among other stipulations.
Leaders’ Formal Identification
Websites for agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services now prominently feature formal names for their leaders. For example, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, commonly referred to as “Marty,” is listed on the official website as Dr. Martin Makary. Similarly, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official biography uses his full name, with a brief mention of him as “Bobby
Inconsistent Application of the Rule
Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya, who previously went by “Jay” in his academic career, is continuing to use his nickname in his government role. His nickname appeared in the headline of an April 1 press release, his official biography, and multiple tweets from official social media accounts. Additionally, an essay published last week also included his nickname in the signature.
Dhanani criticized Bhattacharya’s use of his nickname, arguing that it “demonstrates the rule isn’t for everybody” and “reveals the underlying intention of the policy.”
“If the rule isn’t about preventing trans people from being themselves, it should apply to everyone,” she said. “And if you’re in a leadership position, modeling the policy’s application starts with you.”
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