Federal judge rules that states can challenge Trump’s campaign against transgender kids

A multi-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s effort to restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth can move forward after a federal judge shot down a legal challenge from the Justice Department on Wednesday.

Last August, 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Justice Department over an order to investigate providers of gender-affirming care for youth and halt federal support to them. Earlier this year, the Justice Department fought back in court, arguing that the states did not have the legal authority to sue over internal department policies.

But U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of Boston, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, rejected that argument, saying that the order actually marked an effort to reinterpret federal law to “intimidate and harass” gender-affirming care providers, Reuters reported.

"Not only has the DOJ outlawed the provision of gender-affirming care to adolescents, but the DOJ has already taken steps to enforce their interpretations by issuing numerous subpoenas to gender-affirming care providers and starting investigations," Kelley wrote in her ruling.

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Kelley said the states may have a valid case that the Justice Department’s order violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs federal agencies, as well as principles protecting states’ authority to regulate health care.

Under the Trump administration, federal prosecutors and the Justice Department have increasingly used the courts to target both access to gender-affirming services and providers for minors.

In recent months, hospitals and health systems across the country have received subpoenas seeking records related to gender-affirming care programs for youth. The administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding from hospitals that continue providing such care.

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While several of these efforts have sustained legal challenges, hospitals nationwide have complied with the Trump administration’s wishes before courts have ruled on the administration’s actions, leaving some transgender youth without access to treatment.

Kelley’s ruling authorizes the states’ lawsuit to proceed, setting up a broader challenge to federal directives that have reshaped access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth nationwide.