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If the Trump Administration changes its stance on the case, it could have an impact on the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court because the federal government initially brought the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak.
Writing from the nation
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday is about transgender rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti. This means that the challenge has been brought forward by the federal government.
However, in the upcoming month, the government will undergo a change in leadership, 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 further decisions for the justices to make, since both parties would then be in agreement that the law was constitutional.
In 2017, when President-elect Donald J. Trump was inaugurated, a similar situation occurred. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on the rights of transgender students, leading the Supreme Court to drop 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, with the Biden administration joining their side. 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 throwing out the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may choose to listen to a different argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically kept their positions consistent. However, the Trump administration made significant changes to its positions in four key cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court. These changes included issues related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration successfully won all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on certain issues. They rejected the methods used by the Trump administration in five instances, and were unsuccessful in four of those cases, as reported 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 about legal news. He graduated from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting at The New York Times in 2002. More information about Adam Liptak can be found on his profile.
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