Supreme Court Smacks Down Trump Bid To End Transgender Inmate Care

The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to halt hormone therapies for transgender prisoners in federal custody. The justices voted 7-2 against the government’s request to enforce these restrictions while the lawsuit continues.

This ruling keeps a lower court order in place that stops the new policy. The administration lost a key battle to stop medical care for inmates who identify as the opposite sex.

The Court’s Split Decision

The majority gave no explanation for their refusal to act on the emergency request. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were the sole members who would have allowed the government’s appeal to proceed.

Thomas was appointed by George H.W. Bush, while Alito was appointed by George W. Bush, according to Breitbart. The rest of the court sided with the inmates on this specific procedural request.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer led the appeal for the administration. This was the 41st emergency application the administration has filed with the high court.

Legal Arguments And The Order

This legal conflict focuses on a Bureau of Prisons rule implemented earlier this year. That policy would halt hormone therapy, surgery, and daily items like makeup for inmates who identify as transgender.

That regulation came after President Trump issued an executive order on his initial day returning to office in January 2025. That order pledged to restore what he called “biological truth” and barred federal money for such care.

Attorneys for the government contended that maintaining prison security alone provided sufficient grounds for the policy. They claimed the restrictions were the prison bureau’s own decision, not a direct product of the order.

In a submission to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department urged that judicial bodies must extend “double deference” to those managing prisons. The document further claimed that the medical standards guiding such care lack scientific reliability.

Royce Lamberth, a U.S. District Judge appointed by Ronald Reagan, dismissed this explanation. Lamberth determined the rule was constructed retroactively starting from the executive order merely to secure a legal basis.

Judge Lamberth froze the policy while the case runs its course. He criticized administrators for failing to justify why gender dysphoria warrants treatment distinct from other medical issues.

Officials from the administration claimed that transgender prisoners would not forfeit any essential needs. They called hormones and social accommodations “not medically necessary” for gender dysphoria.

White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster called the outcome a loss for common sense. The ACLU, acting as counsel for the inmates, described the outcome as a victory for approximately 1,000 transgender individuals held in federal custody.

According to National Review, the Supreme Court ought to have prevented a district judge from blocking the Bureau of Prisons regarding transgender inmate services. That view was not shared by the seven justices who voted against the request.