Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Inmates
Transgender inmates in federal custody will retain access to hormone treatments and certain surgeries after the U.S. Supreme Court refused on Wednesday to lift a lower judge’s block on the Trump administration’s policy. The high court’s decision hands the administration a rare emergency setback in its broader crackdown on transgender rights, leaving the three-decade-old status quo in federal prisons intact while litigation proceeds in lower courts.
Supreme Court Declines Emergency Stay Over Conservative Dissents
The justices issued a brief order denying the Justice Department’s request to immediately enforce the Bureau of Prisons policy, which was formalized in a February statement. As is customary with emergency applications, the high court provided no reasoning for the outcome. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented from the decision, according to reporting by Reuters. The action marks a departure from recent months, during which the administration had secured more than two dozen emergency victories at the Supreme Court after lower judges blocked parts of the president’s agenda.
The legal battle stems from an executive order signed on January 20, 2025, during the first day back in office of President Donald Trump. That order directed that federal funds not be spent on medical procedures designed to conform an inmate’s appearance to the opposite sex. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in court filings that the restrictions were necessary to maintain institutional security within federal correctional facilities. The administration also contended that the lawsuit should fail because lower courts allegedly failed to comply with laws limiting inmates’ ability to file continuous civil litigation, labeling the legal challenge an egregious intrusion into prison administration.
Lower Court Blocks Bureau of Prisons Restrictions
In June, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth blocked the Bureau of Prisons policy, concluding that the restrictions were likely arbitrary and capricious. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit subsequently voted 2-1 against the administration, finding no evidence of specific security incidents under the longstanding policy. The federal prison system has provided hormone therapy to people diagnosed with gender dysphoria since at least 1992. Government figures from 2025 indicate there are more than 2,000 transgender inmates housed across federal facilities and halfway houses.
The contested policy prohibits medical and surgical treatments, alongside social accommodations such as clothing changes and hair-removal devices, while permitting psychiatric services to continue. Three transgender inmates incarcerated in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Florida filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the directive with representation from the American Civil Liberties Union. Lawyers for the inmates argued that siding with the administration would cause immediate and catastrophic harm, noting in court filings that denying hormone therapy increases risks of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.
Li Nowlin-Sohl, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, emphasized the practical stakes of the litigation. This is a critical ruling for our clients and all transgender people in Bureau of Prisons custody,
Nowlin-Sohl stated in the material reported by The Hill. The denial of medically necessary health care, including gender-affirming health care, to people in prison is a violation of their fundamental constitutional rights.
Aditi Shah, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that the ruling will prevent serious and irreparable harm to plaintiffs and the class while the legal challenge continues.
Supreme Court Maintains Pattern of Restricting Transgender Rights
The high court’s refusal to intervene stands in contrast to several other rulings issued by the 6-3 conservative majority over the past year. The Supreme Court previously permitted the Trump administration to enforce a ban on openly transgender troops serving in the military, allowed states to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths, backed state laws barring transgender athletes from female sports teams, and restricted passport applicants from designating non-traditional gender identities. The latest denial leaves the administration’s prison directives paused while the underlying class-action lawsuit continues to move through the federal court system.