Seattle: A federal judge has further blocked the Trump administration from enforcing executive orders that cut federal funding to medical providers offering gender-affirming care to transgender youth under 19.
U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, preventing the administration from applying these orders in Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. The judge ruled that the orders were unconstitutional and intruded on Congress’ authority to allocate federal funding.
Judge Cites Constitutional Violations
King, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, found that Trump’s directives discriminated based on sex and transgender status, violating the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment. One of Trump’s executive orders, signed on January 20—the day he returned to the White House—directed federal agencies to recognize only two biological sexes and ensure that federal grant funds were not used to support what he called “gender ideology.”
“This order denies the very existence of transgender people and instead seeks to erase them from the federal vocabulary altogether,” King wrote in her decision.
A judge extended an order blocking the Trump administration from withholding federal funding to medical providers that provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth under the age of 19 https://t.co/A1nBWsgI7j pic.twitter.com/btqSM4NvKg
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 2, 2025
Nationwide Legal Battle Over Gender-Affirming Care
King had previously issued a temporary restraining order on February 14 while considering the preliminary injunction. Meanwhile, another federal judge in Maryland has temporarily blocked the same orders nationwide, pending further legal review.
The White House has not yet responded to the ruling.
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The lawsuit was filed after Trump signed a second executive order on January 28, stating that the federal government would not fund or support medical procedures related to gender transition for minors. The directive also emphasized strict enforcement of laws limiting such treatments.
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The executive orders have been part of a broader push by Republican-led states to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. More than half of U.S. states have enacted bans or policies limiting such care, though many have faced legal challenges. The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a case involving Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care, a ruling that could set a precedent for similar laws nationwide.
