Judge Prevents Trump’s Directive to Shift Trans Women to Male Prisons

February 5, 2025 TruthUSA

The directive indicates that the policy of the United States is to acknowledge the existence of only two sexes: male and female.

A judge issued a temporary injunction on Tuesday against President Donald Trump’s executive order, which required transgender inmates identifying as women to be placed in male facilities and mandated the cessation of government funding for their hormone therapy access.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington granted the temporary restraining order following a request from three anonymous transgender inmates who filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive action.

Judge Lamberth determined that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail in their argument that the order contravenes the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

Trump’s January 20 order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” directs the attorney general and the Homeland Security secretary to ensure that “males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers.”

The order mandates that the attorney general ensures the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) updates its medical care policies to prevent federal funds from being allocated to “any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” It also specifies that the United States recognizes only two sexes: male and female.

“These sexes are immutable and are based on fundamental and undeniable reality,” the order claims.

Judge Lamberth stated that the plaintiffs in the Washington case submitted evidence, including various government documents and regulations, indicating that transgender inmates face “a significantly elevated risk of physical and sexual violence compared to other inmates” when placed in facilities aligned with their biological sex, as noted in his ruling.

The plaintiffs also asserted that being placed in a male prison would worsen their gender dysphoria symptoms.

Additionally, the inmates provided evidence from a physician stating that the lack of access to medications for treating gender dysphoria could lead to “numerous and severe symptoms,” Lamberth wrote.

“It is, of course, possible that further legal briefing on the constitutional issues at the heart of this dispute, or factual discovery, may ultimately lead to a different conclusion,” Lamberth stated. “However, the plaintiffs, through their largely unchallenged factual claims and submitted affidavits, have demonstrated a likely chance of succeeding on the merits.”

Lamberth refrained from making a determination regarding the inmates’ additional claims that the order breaches the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has supported the order by asserting that it holds broad authority in making decisions about inmate placements and has an interest in safeguarding inmates’ privacy and security.

Nevertheless, Lamberth rejected that argument, remarking in his order that the public interest in seeing the plaintiffs immediately moved to male facilities is “minimal at best.”

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) — President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Lamberth’s ruling follows a recent decision by a federal judge in Boston who prevented prison officials from moving a biologically male inmate who identifies as a woman to a men’s facility. In that instance, the ruling was specific to the individual inmate who contested Trump’s executive order.

Conversely, Tuesday’s decision in Washington impacts all 16 transgender women currently placed in federal women’s prisons.

Approximately 2,230 transgender inmates are held in federal custody and halfway houses throughout the United States, according to the DOJ. Among them, about two-thirds, or 1,506, are biologically male who identify as female, with the majority located in men’s prisons.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ and the Bureau of Prisons for comments.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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