Supreme Court Upholds Pause on Trump's Trans Prison Policy

Source reports published 21 Oct 2026, 10:00 am – 22 Oct 2026, 2:17 am AEST

The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to halt a lower court’s injunction on providing gender-affirming care to transgender inmates in federal prisons. The decision maintains a previous order preventing the Bureau of Prisons from terminating hormone therapy and other treatments.

What happened

• The Supreme Court, in an unsigned order, rejected the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to enforce a policy restricting medical care for transgender inmates in federal prisons.
• Justice Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have granted the administration’s request.
• The decision upheld a lower court’s injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who had ruled that the Bureau of Prisons’ policy violated inmates’ constitutional rights.
• The policy, stemming from a Trump executive order, sought to halt surgeries, taper off hormones, and end social accommodations like wigs and makeup for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
• ACLU attorney Li Nowlin-Sohl stated that over 2,000 transgender individuals are in BOP custody and that approximately 800 have been prescribed hormone therapy.
• The government argued the policy was necessary for institutional security and to address ‘fairness concerns.’
• However, legal representatives for the inmates contended that the Bureau of Prisons has provided hormone treatment since 1992 and that ending treatment would cause severe mental health issues.
• The Supreme Court’s decision reflects a previous trend of allowing the administration’s transgender policies to proceed while legal challenges are ongoing.

Original reporting

• NPR: Supreme Court upholds pause on Trump's anti-trans prison policy
  2026-10-21T00:00:00+00:00
• PBS NewsHour: Supreme Court rebuffs Trump administration restrictions on medical care for transgender inmates
  2026-10-21T16:17:51+00:00
• CBS News: Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to restrict some medical treatments for transgender inmates
  2026-10-21T15:34:00+00:00