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What will occur with the case if the Trump Administration changes its position? If the challenge was initiated by the federal government, the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court could be impacted by a change in administration.
Written by Adam Liptak
Reporting live from the
The case being considered 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.
However, the upcoming change in government leadership will likely result in the Trump administration rejecting the Biden administration’s stance that a Tennessee law restricting certain medical treatments for transgender minors is unconstitutional.
Typically, this would indicate that there would be no need for the judges to make a decision because both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a similar situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump came into office. In March of that year, the Supreme Court decided to no longer rule on a case involving transgender rights after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue. The case in question was about a transgender boy in 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, with the Biden administration getting involved on their behalf. 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 immediately throwing out the case, the court may decide to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may choose to listen to a different argument, or they could refer back to the one presented on Wednesday. During this time, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union, Chase Strangio, will be arguing with Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations would rarely switch positions. When the Obama administration took office, they did not change any positions. However, the first Trump administration was more daring. They changed positions in four significant cases during their first full Supreme Court term, such as those involving workers’ rights and voting rolls, and they won all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on various issues, as seen in disavowing the approaches taken by the Trump administration in five instances. However, they were unsuccessful in four 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 about legal news. He went to 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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