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If the Trump Administration changes its position on the case, it could impact its outcome in the Supreme Court since the federal government is the one challenging it.
Written by Adam Liptak.
Writing from the capital
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday concerning transgender rights is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
Next month, there will be a change in government control, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s stance that a Tennessee law restricting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that there would be no need for the justices to make a decision, since both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a comparable situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, following a change in policy by the Trump administration regarding transgender students’ rights, the Supreme Court decided to no longer hear a case involving a transgender student in Virginia wanting 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 supporting them. Both the families and the government submitted separate 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 may choose to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court has the option to consider a different 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 rarely changed positions. Unlike the Obama administration, which maintained its positions upon taking office, the first Trump administration made significant changes in four major cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court. These changes included cases on workers’ rights and voting rolls, all of which were successful.
The Biden administration did not hesitate to change its stance on certain issues. It rejected the policies of the previous Trump administration in five instances, but only won one of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering 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 his career at The New York Times in 2002. You can learn more about Adam Liptak on his profile.
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