Project 2029: What Democrats Must Do to Protect Trans People

Behind closed doors, Democratic-aligned think tanks are sketching out a roadmap for the next progressive presidency. The goal is clear: prepare now so a future Democratic administration can move quickly and boldly. But unless that roadmap includes a serious, enforceable plan to materially protect trans people, it will be remembered not as a blueprint for progress—but as a concession to decline.

Trans people don’t need symbolism. We need safety. We need structure. We need systems built to support us in a world where hostile actors are already thinking ten steps ahead.

Here’s what Project 2029 must include:

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1. Keep Transition Care Between Doctors and Patients

Medical transition is one of the great accomplishments of modern science. It saves lives. It restores autonomy. And it works best when decisions are made by patients and their providers—not politicians.

• Cover beauty, dental, and voice services as medically necessary—for trans people and for everyone. Dental care is healthcare. Voice therapy and gender-affirming grooming services are essential not just for comfort or expression, but for safety. These are not cosmetic luxuries—they are part of being safe.

• Make hormones available over the counter, following the model of countries that already do so safely. Hormones are safer than many over-the-counter drugs. Keeping them locked behind gatekeeping structures adds delay and cost with no clear public health benefit. This reform would benefit not only trans people but also aging cisgender men and, in some cases, postmenopausal women, for whom hormone therapy can improve quality of life.

• Deschedule testosterone from the list of controlled substances. Right now, testosterone is regulated like a dangerous narcotic, despite being a vital medication for many trans and cis people. This classification creates unnecessary barriers to access and reinforces stigma.

• Fund personalized transition coaching so that people navigating hormones, surgeries, and social shifts have access to real, human support. Transition care should be supported like any other complex medical process—with resources, not roadblocks.

• Invest in regenerative medicine and trans-led research, including efforts to make surgeries more functional and reproductive options more available. Transition medicine is already a miracle. With real investment, it could be even more precise, restorative, and inclusive.

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2. Remove Bureaucratic Barriers to Identity

Identity documentation should affirm and protect, not expose and punish. The government’s obsession with categorizing us by outdated standards only serves to enforce discrimination.

• Eliminate gender/sex markers from federal IDs such as passports and Social Security records. These markers were never essential to identification and only became standard as a response to moral panic. Just as racial and ethnic markers were removed from identity documents in other countries to prevent discrimination, sex markers should be phased out in the U.S.

• Prohibit any requirement for sex assigned at birth on identification documents. Forcing people to carry documents that reveal a gender history they have not consented to share puts trans people at risk for harassment, denial of services, and violence.

• Erase federal records of past gender marker changes, ensuring trans people aren’t forcibly outed by government databases. These records serve no purpose beyond surveillance. Privacy means allowing people to move forward without being constantly tethered to outdated versions of themselves.

• Make name and gender marker changes free and simple at the state level. Right now, these processes are often expensive, confusing, and overly bureaucratic—barriers that disproportionately impact low-income people and youth.

• Push for international biometric ID standards that reduce reliance on sex classification. Identity verification can rely on biometrics, photos, and documentation of legal name—not invasive and often inaccurate assumptions about someone’s gender.

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3. Build a System That Can Withstand the Next Authoritarian Wave

The next Democratic administration must think like our enemies do—strategically and structurally. The goal isn’t just to undo damage; it’s to make protections hard to dismantle.

• Fund gender clinics near hostile state borders, especially in the South and Midwest. When Republican-led states create healthcare deserts, nearby states must respond by offering high-quality, low-barrier care right across the border. These clinics should be staffed and resourced for rapid access, not months-long waitlists.

• Ban the trans panic defense in courts nationwide. No one should be able to justify assault or murder by claiming surprise at someone’s gender. Several states have already banned this defense—it’s time to make it a national standard.

• Provide universal civil public defenders to help trans people navigate housing discrimination, employment disputes, wrongful denial of healthcare, and barriers to changing documentation. Right now, civil rights are often unenforceable because there’s no access to legal representation unless you’re charged with a crime.

• Remove gender data from federal archives that could be weaponized under future administrations. Any information the government keeps about a person’s previous gender status or transition history should be automatically expunged when documentation is updated.

• Recognize trans status as grounds for asylum, both within the U.S. and internationally. Trans people fleeing persecution—whether from states like Texas or countries like Uganda—deserve refuge and a pathway to safety.

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4. Deliver Full-Spectrum Care for Trans Lives

We deserve care that supports our full humanity—our ability to build lives of dignity, connection, and joy. That means meeting needs that go beyond the medical basics.

• Mandate insurance coverage for fertility preservation before medical transition, including sperm banking, egg retrieval, and storage. Right now, these services are technically available but financially inaccessible. If a cis teenager facing cancer can freeze their eggs or sperm without question, trans youth should be offered the same opportunity—without a fight.

• Subsidize fertility preservation for trans youth and adults, ensuring it's a real option, not a theoretical one. The fear of future regret around fertility is real, but it is best addressed by expanding options, not restricting care.

• Fund trans-specific shelters and housing programs, especially for youth and displaced adults. Housing instability remains one of the greatest threats to trans survival. Local governments should create long-term, affirming housing options that center safety and community.

• Build relocation networks to help people escape hostile states and access care, housing, and community in safer regions. This includes financial support for travel, legal assistance, job placement, and help integrating into new communities. It should not fall entirely on mutual aid to do this work.

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Project 2029 is more than a policy wish list. It’s a chance to build something enduring—something that treats trans people not as a political risk, but as part of the future. That future will come whether Democrats are ready or not. The only question is who it will protect.