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What will occur with the case if the Trump Administration changes its stance? The outcome of the case before the Supreme Court could be impacted by the transition in leadership, as the federal government was the one who initially brought the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
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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 dispute initiated by the federal government.
However, the government will shift its control next month, and it is 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 need for the judges to make a decision, since both parties would then acknowledge that the law was in line with the constitution.
A similar situation occurred in 2017 when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Supreme Court decided to dismiss a case involving the rights of transgender students after the Trump administration changed its stance. 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 originally challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration stepping in to support them. 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 throwing out the case, the court may decide to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court has the option to listen to a new argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio of the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations would rarely change their positions on issues. For example, when Obama took office, his administration did not change positions on any cases. However, the Trump administration was more daring in this regard. In its first full Supreme Court term, it changed positions in four major cases, such as those concerning workers’ rights and voting rolls, and it won all four cases.
The Biden administration has been willing to change its stance on various issues. According to research conducted by Thomas Wolf of the Brennan Center for Justice, the administration has rejected five policies implemented by the Trump administration and has been unsuccessful in four of those instances.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in reporting on the Supreme Court and legal issues. He also writes a column called Sidebar. Before starting his career in journalism, he worked as a lawyer for 14 years after graduating from Yale Law School. Liptak joined The New York Times in 2002.
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