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If the Trump Administration changes its position, it could impact the outcome of the case in front of the Supreme Court since the government is the one challenging it.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being considered by the justices on Wednesday involves transgender rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal challenge initiated by the federal government.
However, the government will be under new leadership next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s claim that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain types of medical treatment for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that there would be no further decisions for the judges to make, as both parties would then agree that the law was in accordance with the constitution.
A similar situation occurred in 2017 when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on the rights of transgender students, leading to the Supreme Court dropping a case they were planning to rule on. This case involved a transgender boy in Virginia who was fighting for the right to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, a complicating factor arose 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, but the justices only accepted the government’s petition.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may choose to listen to a new argument or refer back to the one presented on Wednesday. During the argument, lawyer Chase Strangio from the American Civil Liberties Union will be advocating for the families, while Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration, will also be presenting.
In the past, new administrations typically did not change their positions often. For example, the Obama administration did not change any positions when they first took office. However, the first Trump administration was more bold and changed positions in four major cases during its first full Supreme Court term. These cases included workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration was successful in all four instances.
The Biden administration has not been hesitant to change its stance on issues, distancing itself from the policies of the Trump administration on five occasions. However, it was unsuccessful in four of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who reports on 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 at The New York Times in 2002.
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