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If the Trump Administration changes its position, it could impact the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court because the federal government is the one who originally brought the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case about transgender rights currently being heard by the justices is known as United States v. Skrmetti, which indicates that it is a legal challenge initiated by the federal government.
Next month, there will be a change in government control, and it is expected that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s claim that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that the justices would not have to make a decision because both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
A similar situation occurred in 2017 when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on transgender student rights, leading the Supreme Court to drop a case involving a transgender boy in Virginia wanting to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. The Tennessee law was challenged by three families and a doctor, with the Biden administration stepping in to support them. Both the families and the government submitted requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of throwing out the case, the court might decide to approve the companion petition that was filed late. They could choose to listen to a new argument, or they could refer back to the one presented on Wednesday by the lawyer for the families, Chase Strangio from the American Civil Liberties Union, and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, newly elected administrations typically kept their positions unchanged. However, the Obama administration did not change any positions when it took office. On the other hand, the first Trump administration was more daring, changing positions in four significant cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court. These cases involved workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration succeeded in all four.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on issues, distancing itself from the approaches of the Trump administration in five instances. However, they were unsuccessful in four of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering the Supreme Court and writing about legal updates in his column, Sidebar. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting at The New York Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his profile.
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