BY: DM
Published 54 minutes ago
A coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia — led by Democratic attorneys general and governors — has filed a federal lawsuit. The suit accuses the White House and the Justice Department of running an unlawful campaign to intimidate hospitals and doctors who provide gender-affirming care to young people.
The complaint asks a federal judge to vacate the executive directives, stop DOJ investigations, and block any effort to strip funding or pursue criminal penalties against providers in states where that care is lawful.
16 states are fighting back against Trump’s executive order.
The legal attack the states describe is methodical. Officials say President Trump issued a January executive order labeling puberty blockers and some surgeries as “chemical and surgical mutilation.” Additionally, the move directed federal agencies to act, followed by DOJ memoranda and an aggressive enforcement posture. That posture includes subpoenas to clinics, hospitals, and drug manufacturers. According to the Associated Press, the plaintiffs argue those actions are designed not to enforce existing law but to chill and, effectively, ban care nationwide, even where state law protects it. The complaint lays out the theory in detail and asks the court to hold the federal directives unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Tenth Amendment.
The states suing are Massachusetts, California, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — plus the District of Columbia. The full complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It lists each state and outlines the legal claims. These include APA violations, and accusations that the DOJ exceeded its statutory authority. There is also a Tenth Amendment argument that federal officials cannot commandeer state medical licensing and regulatory regimes.
“This is an unlawful attempt to nationalize a medical policy that the states — and medical professionals — are best positioned to regulate,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement to The 19th. “The administration’s actions put providers in an impossible position: either comply with unlawful federal threats or violate state laws that require nondiscriminatory access to medical care.”
What the federal government did, and why the states say is unlawful.
The complaint points to three related federal steps. The first is the executive order that calls for enforcement and funding consequences. The second is DOJ memoranda that link routine pediatric and endocrine treatments to criminal statutes. This includes a claimed connection to the federal law banning female genital mutilation. The third is a wave of subpoenas and civil investigative demands sent to clinics, doctors, and manufacturers. According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been at least 20 such actions.
Legally, the states’ complaint focuses on administrative law grounds and federalism principles rather than re-arguing medical best practices.
The Justice Department, for its part, has defended the actions as protecting children. In a statement to the LA Times, a DOJ spokesperson said Attorney General Pam Bondi “has made clear, this Department of Justice will use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of ‘care.’”
Do you agree with the states’ claim that the DOJ is overstepping its authority? Comment below!
