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If the Trump Administration changes its stance on the case, it could impact the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court because the federal government is the one who initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday concerns trans rights and is titled United States v. Skrmetti. This indicates that the challenge is being initiated by the federal government.
However, the current government will lose its control next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s claim that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain types of medical treatment for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that there would be no need for the judges to make a decision, since both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a comparable situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. Following the Trump administration’s change in stance on transgender student rights, the Supreme Court decided to no longer rule on a case involving a transgender boy in Virginia who wanted to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor initially challenged the Tennessee law, and the Biden administration supported them. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for review in the Supreme Court, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may choose to consider a different argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by lawyer Chase Strangio from the ACLU and U.S. solicitor general Elizabeth B. Prelogar, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically did not change their stances often. However, the Trump administration was more proactive in changing positions, doing so in four significant cases during its first full Supreme Court term. These cases included workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration succeeded in all four instances.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change their stance on certain issues. They rejected the approaches taken by the Trump administration on five occasions, but only won one of those cases based on a count by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar, which discusses legal news and updates. He graduated from 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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