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What will occur with the court case if the Trump Administration changes its stance? The outcome of the case before the Supreme Court may be impacted by the change in administration since the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being heard by the judges on Wednesday regarding transgender rights is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
Next month, the government’s control will shift, and it is highly likely 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 there would be no need for the justices to make a decision, as 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 Supreme Court decided to dismiss a case involving the rights of transgender students after the Trump administration changed their stance on the issue. The case in question was about a transgender boy in Virginia who was fighting for the right 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, with the Biden administration also getting involved on their behalf. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for review in the Supreme Court, but the justices decided to only accept the one from the government.
Instead of throwing out the case, the court might decide to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court has the option to listen to a new argument or refer back to the one presented on Wednesday. During this time, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union, Chase Strangio, will be arguing alongside Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically stuck to their initial positions. However, the Trump administration made significant changes in four major cases during its first full Supreme Court term, including issues related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and succeeded in all four cases. This was a more bold approach compared to previous administrations.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on issues, as shown by disavowing the approaches taken by the Trump administration five times. However, they were unsuccessful in four of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf of the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar which focuses on legal news. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002.
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