The U.S. Department of Justice on September 28 filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a nationwide injunction that currently requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide gender-affirming medical care to inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The request seeks to reinstate a February 2026 BOP policy that ends transgender surgeries, hormone therapy, and social accommodations such as wigs, makeup, and chest binders for federal prisoners.
The emergency application was filed in the case Trump v. Kingdom, following a June 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth that blocked the policy and ordered the BOP to continue providing these treatments. The administration argues the policy was lawfully enacted under the BOP’s rulemaking authority and that the judge overstepped by issuing the injunction.
Policy Details and Legal Rationale
The February 2026 BOP policy was issued in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump in January 2025, which directed federal agencies to avoid spending funds on medical procedures or treatments for gender dysphoria in federal prisons. The BOP’s new rules continued mental health services for inmates with gender dysphoria but prohibited surgeries, hormone therapy, and social accommodations, including chest binders, wigs, makeup, and breast padding.
The DOJ’s emergency petition asserts that the BOP’s decision to prioritize mental health treatment while discontinuing other interventions falls within the agency’s reasoned decision-making authority. The filing argues that the district court’s order blocking the policy was improperly issued, as the BOP’s rules were independent of the executive order and based on medical and administrative considerations.
Court Rulings and Legal Challenges
Judge Lamberth’s June 2025 order blocked the BOP’s policy, ruling that the new rules were "reverse engineered" to implement Trump’s executive order and thus violated administrative law. The judge also found that the policy unfairly targeted transgender inmates by removing access to medically necessary care. In August 2025, Lamberth extended the injunction, requiring the BOP to continue providing the previously banned treatments while the legal dispute proceeds.
A group of inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria filed the original lawsuit in 2024, arguing that the BOP’s policy violated their constitutional rights to medical care. The administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court seeks to stay the injunction temporarily while the case moves through the courts.
Ongoing Legal and Policy Debate
The dispute reflects broader national debates over gender-affirming care in correctional facilities, with advocates arguing that denying such treatments constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Opponents of the policy, including the Trump administration, contend that federal funds should not be used for gender-transition procedures and that prison security concerns justify the restrictions.
The Supreme Court’s response to the DOJ’s petition is pending, with no immediate timeline for a decision. The case remains a developing legal and policy issue, with potential implications for federal prison healthcare standards and the balance between security and medical rights for transgender inmates.