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Supreme Court refuses to let Trump administration immediately enforce medical limits for transgender inmates
The justices left in place a lower-court order keeping hormone therapy and other care available to transgender people in federal prisons while a legal challenge to the Trump administration policy continues.
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What happened
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down a request from the Trump administration to immediately enforce new medical restrictions for transgender people held in federal prisons. The Associated Press reported the decision, and it was carried by ABC News and PBS NewsHour. The order leaves a lower-court block on the policy in place.
According to PBS NewsHour, the brief order did not explain the court's legal reasoning. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have allowed the policy to take effect while the lawsuit moves through the lower courts.
What the prison policy would do
The executive order behind it
The policy grew out of an executive order from President Donald Trump. AP reported that Trump has taken several steps to roll back transgender rights during his second term. His order directed the Bureau of Prisons to revise its medical care rules so federal money is not spent "for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex."
What would change for inmates
Under the new policy, surgeries would stop, hormone treatment would be tapered off and social accommodations such as makeup and wigs would end, according to AP. Prisons would still provide mental health services. The Bureau of Prisons said in court records that about 600 inmates were receiving hormone therapy in 2025.
How the case reached the Supreme Court
The trial judge's ruling
Lawyers for transgender inmates sued to stop the policy. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan, ordered that treatments continue. AP reported that Lamberth noted untreated gender dysphoria can lead to serious effects, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
The administration's appeal
The Trump administration appealed. It argued that the treatments raised security concerns and "could no longer be justified," AP reported. A divided appeals court panel kept Lamberth's order in place, and the administration then turned to the Supreme Court.
What the inmates' lawyers argued
Attorneys for the inmates said that withdrawing care would significantly affect their clients' bodies and mental health. They also wrote that the government has not detailed evidence of security problems tied to hormone therapy for transgender inmates in the 30 years it has been provided.
How this fits with other rulings
The decision differs from several earlier actions by the court. AP reported that the justices have previously allowed other policies affecting transgender people to move forward for now, including limits on military service and on passport sex markers.
The court, which has a conservative majority, has also upheld state laws that ban certain medical treatments for transgender youth and that restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, according to AP. More coverage of federal court cases is available in our national news section.
What to watch next
- The lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Prisons policy continues in the lower courts.
- Judge Royce Lamberth's order requiring treatments to continue remains in effect while that case plays out.
- The Supreme Court's brief order did not explain its legal reasoning.
