Supreme Court refuses to halt a judge’s push to reinstate transgender care for federal inmates, leaving the policy intact as litigation continues; only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito signaled they would have stopped the lower‑court antics.
Court Rejects Administration’s Stay Request
The high court issued an unsigned order on Wednesday rejecting the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a August ruling by D.C. Senior District Judge Royce Lamberth.
Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, renewed his preliminary injunction that blocks the Bureau of Prisons from enforcing its latest transgender‑related policy, a rule the administration says implements a 2025 executive order.
That order, signed by President Trump, directed the attorney general to bar any federal funds from covering medical procedures, treatments, or drugs intended to align an inmate’s appearance with the opposite sex, according to SCOTUSblog.
Lamberth previously blocked a similar 2025 policy in June 2025, citing insufficient administrative record and questioning the BOP’s experience with gender‑affirming care under the prior rule.
The D.C. Court of Appeals denied the administration’s emergency request on September 18, ruling 2‑1 that the government had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits and that the BOP failed to consider its own prior experience, as noted in the appellate opinion.
Judge Justin Walker, a Trump‑appointed judge, dissented, arguing the administration had demonstrated a strong chance of success on the merits, would suffer irreparable harm without a stay, and that the equities favored granting the request.
Solicitor General John Sauer contended before the Supreme Court that the district court ignored the BOP’s reasoning and the administrative record, and that its conclusions were meritless and contrary to the deference owed to the agency under the Administrative Procedures Act.
The Supreme Court provided no explanation for its decision, but its refusal to stay Lamberth’s injunction means the policy remains in effect while the case proceeds through the lower courts.
Shawn Fleetwood, a staff writer for The Federalist and University of Mary Washington graduate, received the 2025 Dao Prize for Investigative Journalism and has contributed to RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth; follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood.
