WASHINGTON — The White House Monday will announce that new rules barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity are being drafted, BuzzFeed has learned.

More than two years after the White House first rejected pursuing an executive order implementing the protections, President Obama is moving on the issue a week after talking about the important role that administrative action can play in advancing LGBT rights.

At a question-and-answer session at the White House last week, Obama spoke about how transgender students can now "assert their rights" following recent Education Department action laying out an expanded view of sex discrimination protections under Title IX.

The comments were in contrast to the administration's prior stance against signing an executive order to bar federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers and job applicants, despite Obama having said he would support protecting such workers in a questionnaire filled out while a candidate in 2008.

The Obama administration has maintained in the past that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is its preferred path for LGBT workplace protections, but Monday's announcement signals an acknowledgement that, despite Senate passage last fall, the bill is not likely to move in the House this year.

Monday's planned announcement comes the day before Obama is slated to talk in New York City at a Democratic National Committee LGBT gala. Additionally, the White House reception planned to mark LGBT Pride Month is set for June 30.

Although the specifics of the White House plans were not yet known, the order likely would either amend an earlier executive order signed by President Lyndon Johnson banning federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin or would be modeled after that order.

The White House declined to provide comment on the plans Monday morning.