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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 since the federal government initially brought the challenge.
Authored by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday regarding transgender rights is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
The government’s control is set to shift next month, 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 further decisions for the justices to make, 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 to dismiss a case involving the rights of transgender students after the Trump administration changed its stance. The case in question was about 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 were the ones who first challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration also joining 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. They may choose to consider a different argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the U.S. solicitor general, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically did not change their positions frequently. However, the Trump administration was more bold in this regard. They changed positions in four significant cases during their first full Supreme Court term, such as those concerning workers’ rights and voting rolls, and they were successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was quick to change its stance on issues, distancing themselves from the policies of the Trump administration in five instances. However, they were unsuccessful in four of these cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak reports on news related to the Supreme Court and authors Sidebar, a column discussing 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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