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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
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The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday concerns transgender rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti. This case involves a challenge brought forth by the federal government.
The current government’s control will shift next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the argument made by the Biden administration that a Tennessee law restricting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that there would be no further need for the justices to make a decision, as both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a similar situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on transgender students’ rights, leading the Supreme Court to drop a previously accepted case. This case involved a transgender boy from 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 originally challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration supporting their side. Both the families and the government submitted requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may consider a different argument or stick to the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the U.S. solicitor general office, representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically made few changes to their positions. For example, when Obama took office, there were no changes in positions. However, the first Trump administration was more daring, changing positions in four significant cases during its first full Supreme Court term. These changes included issues related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration was successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on certain issues. It rejected the strategies of the previous Trump administration on five occasions, but ended up losing in four of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on reporting about the Supreme Court and legal updates in his column called Sidebar. After completing his law degree at Yale Law School, he worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his profile
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