Judge weighs whether prisons can phase out hormone drugs for transgender inmates

A federal judge on Wednesday considered whether the Trump administration can move forward with a new Bureau of Prisons policy designed to phase out taxpayer-funded transgender drugs for federal inmates.

During a hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, repeatedly pressed the Justice Department over whether BOP’s ultimate goal is to remove inmates from cross-sex hormones entirely.

“So the goal is to eventually taper even post-surgery patients totally off?” Lamberth asked at one point.

DOJ attorney M. Jared Littman argued the policy is not a categorical ban because inmates receive “individualized tapering plans” and case-by-case review.

“The only categorical thing going on [is] the categorical relief that plaintiffs seek,” Littman argued, arguing inmates must bring individualized Eighth Amendment claims rather than attempt to block the policy entirely through a class-action suit.

The hearing marked the latest stage in Kingdom v. Trump, a class-action lawsuit