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What will happen to the case if the Trump Administration changes its position? The outcome of the case before the Supreme Court could be impacted by the change in administration since the federal government is the one challenging the case.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the capital
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday regarding trans rights is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
However, the government’s control will shift 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 goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate 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 began his term. In March of that year, the Supreme Court dismissed a case concerning the rights of transgender students after the Trump administration changed its stance. The case involved a transgender boy from Virginia who was fighting for the right to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Initially, three families and a doctor challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration supporting their side. The families and the government each submitted petitions to the Supreme Court for review, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of throwing out the case, the court may choose to approve the companion petition at a later time. They could consider a new argument or stick with the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general, who is representing the Biden administration.
Historically, new administrations have typically been cautious when changing positions. However, the Obama administration did not change any positions when it took office. In contrast, the first Trump administration made significant changes in four major cases during its first full Supreme Court term, including issues related to workers’ rights and voting rolls. The administration was successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on various issues. It disagreed with the approaches taken by the Trump administration on five occasions, and ultimately lost in four of those instances based on a count conducted by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering the Supreme Court and writing about legal news in his column called Sidebar. He has a law degree from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002.
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