Earlier today, the Department of Justice notified the Supreme Court that the United States has changed its position in U.S. v. Skrmetti and is now aligned with the Tennessee Respondents. U.S. v. Skrmetti is a landmark Supreme Court case challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming hormone therapies for transgender adolescents. Oral arguments were held on December 4 and a decision is expected from the Court by June 2025.
The challenge to Tennessee’s ban was originally brought on behalf of three transgender adolescents, their families, and a Memphis-based physician by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The United States filed to intervene in that challenge then filed an application for review to the Supreme Court alongside the private plaintiffs who filed their own application in November 2023. In June 2024, the Supreme Court granted review of the United States’s petition and a ruling is expected by June 2025.
The following is a joint statement from Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump:
“Tennessee’s discriminatory and baseless ban continues to upend the lives of our plaintiffs–transgender adolescents, their families, and a medical provider. These Tennesseans have had their Constitutional right to equal protection under the law violated by the state of Tennessee. This latest move from the Trump administration is another indication that they are using the power of the federal government to target marginalized groups for further discrimination. We condemn this latest move and will continue to fight to vindicate the constitutional rights of all LGBTQ people.”