Attorney general directs Justice Department employees to enforce policies targeting care for transgender minors

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday issued a memo of directives to Justice Department employees to enforce the Trump administration’s policies targeting gender-affirming care for minors, according to a copy of the memo obtained by CNN.

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday issued a memo of directives to Justice Department employees to enforce the Trump administration’s policies targeting gender-affirming care for minors, according to a copy of the memo obtained by CNN. The memo comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January titled, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The executive order targets minors that identify as transgender and says that the United States will not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” minors who are seeking gender-affirming care. “Pursuant to the President’s directive, I am issuing the following guidance to all Department of Justice employees to enforce rigorous protections and hold accountable those who prey on vulnerable children and their parents,” the memo from Bondi said. The memo, which was first reported by LawDork, outlines several guidelines that Justice Department employees must follow in order to implement the policies outlined in Trump’s executive order. Initiatives include drafting and promoting new legislation, establishing a state and federal coalition against child mutilation, and investigating medical providers and pharmaceutical companies who the memo says “mislead the public” on the side effects of gender-affirming care for minors. Bondi’s memo specifically targets the medical community, saying that it has given families “misleading advice,” when seeking the help of medical professionals for this type of care. Major mainstream medical associations — including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry — have affirmed the practice of gender-affirming care and agree that it’s clinically appropriate care that can provide lifesaving treatment for children and adults.