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If the Trump Administration changes its stance, it could impact the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court because the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
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The legal case about transgender rights being heard by the justices on Wednesday is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that the challenge is being brought by the federal government.
However, the government’s leadership will shift in the upcoming month, and it is highly 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 is no longer a need for the judges to make a decision, since 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 Supreme Court decided not to rule on a case involving the rights of transgender students after the Trump administration changed its stance. The case focused on whether a transgender boy in Virginia should be allowed 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 also supporting their side. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, but the justices only accepted the petition from the government.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court may choose to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court has the option to listen to additional arguments or use the ones presented on Wednesday by lawyer Chase Strangio from the American Civil Liberties Union and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically made minimal 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 term in the Supreme Court. These cases involved workers’ rights and voting rules, and the administration was successful in all four instances.
The Biden administration did not hesitate to change its stance on issues. It rejected the strategies of the previous Trump administration in five instances, but 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, focusing 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. To learn more about Adam Liptak, click here.
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