Trump administration switches sides in gender-affirming care dispute at the Supreme Court
CNN
President Donald Trump’s administration is switching positions in a major Supreme Court case on transgender rights, backing away from the Biden administration’s opposition to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
President Donald Trump’s administration is switching positions in a major Supreme Court case on transgender rights, backing away from the Biden administration’s opposition to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The appeal over Tennessee’s ban is the most significant LGBTQ+ case the Supreme Court has considered in years. The Biden administration had challenged the state’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy. A federal appeals court allowed the ban to take effect in 2023 and the court heard oral arguments in December. While the Biden administration sued over the law, officials in the Trump administration told the Supreme Court on Friday they believe that lawsuit was a mistake and that they support the state’s ability to ban gender affirming care for minors. But Justice Department officials also stressed that the high court should still decide the case, even though the government no longer believes in the appeal. “The department has now determined that SB1 does not deny equal protection on account of sex or any other characteristic,” the Justice Department told the Supreme Court. “Accordingly, the new administration would not have intervened to challenge SB1 – let alone sought this court’s review of the court of appeals’ decision reversing the preliminary injunction against SB1.” Given Trump’s public statements and executive actions on issues surrounding transgender minors, the decision to break from the Biden administration had long been expected. Trump repeatedly vowed on the campaign trail to end “transgender craziness.” Trump signed an executive order late last month aimed at ending federal support for medical procedures that involve surgical interventions or the use of puberty blockers or sex hormones in those under 19 years old.
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