SEATTLE — Three Democratic states sued the Trump administration on Friday over its order to ban federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under 19.
Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown filed the federal lawsuit in the Western District of Washington. The attorneys general of Oregon and Minnesota, and three doctors, also joined as plaintiffs. The complaint argues that the order discriminates against transgender people.
Trump signed an executive order last month directing federally run insurance programs, including Medicaid and TRICARE for military families, to exclude coverage for such care. It also calls on the Department of Justice to pursue litigation and legislation to oppose it.
The complaint comes after families with transgender or nonbinary children filed a separate lawsuit in a Baltimore federal court earlier this week.
Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
Legal challenges have already been filed on the military order and a plan to move transgender women in federal prisons to men’s facilities. Others are likely to be filed, just as there have been challenges to a variety of Trump’s policies.
As transgender people have gained visibility and acceptance in some ways, there’s been vehement pushback. At least 26 states have passed laws to restrict or ban the care for minors. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last year but has not yet ruled on whether Tennessee’s ban on the care is constitutional.
Source: Democratic states sue Trump administration over order to halt funding for gender-affirming care