Federal Judge Rejects Trump Administration's Attempt to Halt Gender-Transition Procedures in Prisons
Federal judge blocks Trump's order to end transgender inmate care, ruling BOP must follow medical staff recommendations.
A federal judge has issued an order requiring the Trump administration to resume providing appropriate accommodations and medical care for transgender inmates in the nation's federal prison system. In a significant rebuke, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth stated that officials did not offer a serious rationale justifying why medical treatment for gender dysphoria should be managed differently from other mental health conditions.
The ruling, handed down Tuesday, bars the enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order that had directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to discontinue medical procedures and treatments related to gender transition for incarcerated individuals. According to Judge Lamberth's 36-page opinion, neither the BOP nor the Trump administration provided adequate justification or supporting evidence to validate such restrictions specifically targeting transgender inmates.
The injunction was granted after three transgender prisoners, all diagnosed with gender dysphoria, challenged the executive order. The judge found that their claims are likely to succeed under the Administrative Procedure Act, pointing to arbitrary decision-making by the BOP that could deprive inmates of medically necessary care approved by prison healthcare professionals.
"The import of the opinion is essentially this: Under the APA, the BOP may not arbitrarily deprive inmates of medications or other lifestyle accommodations that its own medical staff have deemed to be medically appropriate without considering the implications of that decision," Judge Lamberth wrote, emphasizing the importance of reasoned and individualized medical determinations in the correctional setting.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons declined to discuss ongoing litigation. Meanwhile, a White House representative sharply criticized the judge's decision, reiterating the Trump administration’s stance that allowing transgender women to be housed in women’s facilities threatens the safety of female inmates and dismissing the validity of gender-affirming care in prisons.
Under the Trump order, the BOP was instructed to halt "any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex." This marked a reversal from previous federal policy—in place since December 2022—when the BOP first began providing taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgery for prisoners. The first recipient of such care was Donna Langan, previously known as Peter Kevin Langan, who received gender surgery while serving time for her role as the leader of a White supremacist robbery ring during the 1990s.
Tuesday's court action marks the latest in a series of judicial interventions that have blocked aspects of the Trump administration’s criminal justice and social policies. The legal battle signals a continued clash over the rights of transgender individuals within federal institutions and the broader question of how constitutional protections apply behind bars.
