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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 influenced by the change in administration since the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Reporting live from the
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday regarding transgender rights is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal challenge initiated by the federal government.
However, the government’s control is expected to shift next month, and it is 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, since both parties would agree that the law in question was constitutional.
In 2017, when President-elect Donald J. Trump was inaugurated, a similar situation occurred. In March of that year, the Supreme Court decided to no longer rule on a case involving transgender rights after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue. The case in question was about a transgender boy in Virginia who wanted 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 joining their side. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, and the justices decided to only accept the government’s petition.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. They may choose to listen to a different argument or stick with the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically made few changes to existing positions. However, the Obama administration did not alter any positions when it took office. In contrast, the first Trump administration was more daring and changed positions 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 cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on certain issues. They rejected the methods used by the previous Trump administration in five instances, but 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 writes a column called Sidebar, which discusses legal news and updates. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his
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