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If the Trump Administration changes its position, it could impact the outcome of the case that is currently before the Supreme Court because the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Updating from the capital
The case being heard by the judges on Wednesday regarding trans rights is named United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
The government’s control is expected to shift next month, and it is likely that the Trump administration will disagree with the Biden administration’s stance on a Tennessee law that restricts certain medical treatments for transgender minors, arguing that it goes against the Constitution.
Typically, if both sides agree that a law is constitutional, it would usually mean there is no further need for the justices to make a decision on the matter.
In 2017, there was a situation where President-elect Donald J. Trump took office. In March of that year, the Supreme Court dismissed a case that was previously agreed to be decided, which involved the rights of transgender students. This was after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue. The case 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. Three families and a doctor initially challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration stepping in to support them. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, and the justices decided to only consider the government’s petition.
Instead of rejecting the case, the court might decide to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court could listen to a different argument, or it could refer to the one presented on Wednesday, where a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union, Chase Strangio, will present alongside Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations were hesitant to change positions. While the Obama administration did not switch positions after taking office, the first Trump administration was more willing to do so. They changed positions in four significant cases during their first full term in the Supreme Court, including issues related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and they succeeded in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on various issues. It disagreed with the approaches taken by the Trump administration in five cases, and ultimately lost four of them, according to a tally by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering news related to the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar that focuses on 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. For more information about Adam Liptak, visit
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