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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 originally brought the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being discussed by the justices on Wednesday is about trans rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal challenge initiated by the federal government.
However, the government’s leadership will shift next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s stance that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
This typically indicates that there would be no further decisions for the judges to make, as both parties would agree that the law was in accordance with the constitution.
In 2017, a similar situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump first assumed office. In March of that year, the Supreme Court decided not to rule on a case involving transgender rights after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue. This case involved 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 supporting 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 petition from the government.
Instead of rejecting the case outright, 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 refer back to 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 made few changes to their positions. For example, the Obama administration did not reverse any positions when it began. However, the first Trump administration was more daring. It altered positions in four significant cases during its first full Supreme Court term, such as those regarding workers’ rights and voting rolls, and it succeeded in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on certain issues. They rejected the approaches taken by the Trump administration five times, but ended up losing in four of those cases, as documented by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on covering news related to the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar, which discusses legal 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, please
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