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If the Trump Administration changes its stance, it could impact the outcome of the case in front of the Supreme Court, as the federal government was the one who initially brought the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Based in Washington,
The case being considered by the judges on Wednesday involves transgender rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti. This case involves a challenge initiated by the federal government.
However, the government will undergo a transition next 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 is unconstitutional.
This typically indicates that there would be no 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 revolved around a transgender boy from 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 initially challenged the Tennessee law, and the Biden administration joined in supporting their case. Both the families and the government filed petitions in the Supreme Court for review, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
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 consider the one presented on Wednesday by lawyers for the families, including Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically made few changes to existing positions. For example, the Obama administration did not change any positions when it took office. However, the first Trump administration was more daring and changed positions in four significant 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 did not hesitate to change its stance on certain issues. It rejected the strategies implemented by the Trump administration in five instances, and ended up losing four of those cases. This information was compiled by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a writer who focuses on the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar, which discusses legal updates. He graduated from 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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