WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court refused Wednesday to allow the Trump administration to immediately implement new medical restrictions on transgender people in federal prisons.
The ruling leaves in place a blockade of the policy by lower courts. It was passed after an executive order from President Donald Trump, a Republican who took several steps to roll back transgender rights during his second term.
The brief order did not detail its legal reasoning. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have allowed the policy to be enforced while the trial played out in lower courts.
The Supreme Court previously allowed other Trump administration policies regarding transgender people to move forward for now, including restrictions on transgender people. military service And passport sex markers.
Trump’s order calls on the Bureau of Prisons to review its medical care policies so that federal funds are not spent “for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.”
The new policy would end surgeries, cut hormones and end social accommodations like makeup and wigs. Prisons would continue to offer mental health services.
Lawyers for transgender inmates challenged the policy in court, and U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the treatment to continue. Lamberth, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, noted that untreated gender dysphoria can cause serious side effects like depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
The Trump administration appealed, arguing that the treatments raised safety concerns and “can no longer be justified.” A divided appeals court left the order in effect.
About 600 inmates were receiving hormone treatment in 2025, the agency said in court records. The government does not have detailed evidence of safety concerns with hormone therapy for transgender inmates in the 30 years it has been provided, they wrote.
“This decision will avoid serious and irreparable harm to plaintiffs and the class while continuing to challenge the government’s unlawful efforts to deny medically necessary health care for political reasons,” said Aditi Shah, an attorney at the ACLU of Washington, DC.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, has already upheld the state’s decision laws prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender youth and restrict sports participation by transgender athletes in women’s sports.
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