A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s federal prison policy on transgender inmates, ruling that the restrictions against gender-affirming treatments likely violate the Administrative Procedure Act and raise serious constitutional concerns under the Eighth Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, blocked enforcement of the January executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which barred federal funds from being used “for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” The policy led to interruptions in hormone therapy and the removal of gender-aligned clothing and hygiene products in some federal facilities.

Recommended Stories

• Jim Jordan proposes Congressional votes on DOGE rescissions 'every day'
• White House defends Trump's tax bill that Musk blasts as 'disgusting abomination'
• Donald Trump Jr. calls crypto 'the answer' to his family getting 'debanked'

The Washington, D.C. district court judge’s 36-page order requires the Bureau of Prisons to continue providing transgender treatments and accommodations to inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria, consistent with policies that existed prior to the executive order.

The lead plaintiff, Alishea Kingdom, a transgender woman, claimed BOP denied hormone injections on multiple occasions and that access to feminine hygiene products was revoked after the policy change. Although Kingdom’s medication was later reinstated, the plaintiff testified that BOP staff said the medication regimen would likely end “as soon as the litigation has concluded.”

Lamberth had previewed his stance earlier this year. In February, he issued a temporary restraining order preventing the BOP from transferring three transgender women inmates to male facilities or cutting off their access to hormone therapy. That ruling foreshadowed his view that Trump’s policy may run afoul of constitutional protections by exposing inmates to harm without medical or legal justification.

In his Tuesday order, Lamberth claimed the administration had failed to justify its reversal of transgender procedures and that treating gender dysphoria differently from other conditions without explanation was likely “arbitrary and capricious.” He also concluded the plaintiffs were at risk of “irreparable harm,” citing declarations from sympathetic doctors and claims that forgoing such treatment would lead to “increased risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidality.”

The preliminary injunction applies nationwide and covers a class of all current and future federal inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Lamberth said the BOP must provide hormone therapy and access to commissary items such as gender-specific clothing and toiletries, as medically indicated.

The Trump administration opposed class certification, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims rest on a false premise that the BOP categorically banned hormone therapy for transgender inmates.

JUDGE BLOCKS FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM FROM RELOCATING TRANSGENDER INMATES

Government lawyers wrote in a March 28 filing that more than 600 inmates receive such treatment based on individual medical assessments, asserting that the case lacks the “commonality” and “typicality” required for class certification.

They also warned that certifying a class would violate the Prison Litigation Reform Act by limiting BOP’s ability to tailor medical care to each inmate and comply with evolving treatment standards.