Federal Judge Extends Block on Trump’s Plan to Cut Funding for Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

On Friday, a federal judge extended a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from institutions offering gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King ruled that Donald Trump’s executive orders violate the Fifth Amendment, which ensures equal protection under the law.

Judge King emphasized that the existing orders would “prevent federally funded medical providers from providing necessary medical treatments to transgender youth that are completely unrelated to gender identity.”

She provided an example: “A cisgender teen could obtain puberty blockers from such a provider as a component of cancer treatment, but a transgender teen with the same cancer care plan could not.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic attorneys general of Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington, challenges the Republican administration’s actions aimed at undermining transgender youth’s access to medical care. In addition, over 80 House Democrats wrote to Trump last month, urging him to revoke one of the executive orders targeted by King’s ruling, citing its unconstitutionality.

Trump’s attacks on transgender people have also included efforts to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military.