Judge halts Trump’s prison order, ruling transgender inmates must receive gender dysphoria treatment.

Federal Ruling Ensures Continued Medical Support for Transgender Inmates

A U.S. federal court has issued a ruling against President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to prohibit gender-related medical care for transgender inmates in federal prisons. The decision, delivered Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, mandates that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continue providing care and accommodations for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

The injunction blocks implementation of the Trump administration’s directive, which had instructed the BOP to halt all medical procedures, treatments, or medications intended to align an inmate’s physical appearance with their gender identity. Judge Lamberth found that the administration failed to offer a serious or medically grounded explanation for the shift in policy.

“Neither the BOP nor the Executive Order provides any serious explanation as to why the treatment modalities covered by the Executive Order or implementing memoranda should be handled differently than any other mental health intervention,” Lamberth wrote in a 36-page opinion.

The case was brought forward by three transgender inmates who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. They challenged the order under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which requires federal agencies to act rationally and provide adequate justification for policy changes. Lamberth ruled that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim.

“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,” Lamberth added.

Since December 2022, prior to the Trump administration's reversal, the BOP had begun providing federally funded surgical procedures for transgender inmates. The first known procedure was performed on inmate Donna Langan, formerly known as Peter Kevin Langan, who had been convicted for leading a series of armed bank robberies in the 1990s.

A spokesperson for the BOP declined to comment on the ruling, citing ongoing litigation. However, the White House defended the executive order, arguing that the policy protected the safety of female inmates and upheld a biological definition of gender. In its statement, the administration emphasized confidence in prevailing as the case continues through the courts.

The ruling marks a significant legal setback for the administration’s attempt to redefine federal prison policy regarding transgender healthcare. For now, medical decisions regarding gender dysphoria remain in the hands of BOP medical professionals rather than political appointees.