On February 7, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) notified the Supreme Court that it was withdrawing from the US. v Skrmetti case challenging the constitutionality of states banning transgender care for minors.

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A Brief Recap of Skrmetti

In 2023, Tennessee passed a ban on transgender care for minors. Known as SB1, the law prohibits the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy on minors claiming to be transgender. SB1 went into effect on July 1^, 2023.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lamda Legal immediately sued the state to stop the ban from going into effect on behalf of their clients, three Tennessee families with transgender children, and a Memphis physician. Their challenge was based on the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The U.S. District Court in Tennessee then put the state’s ban on hold. But in the Fall of 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6^th Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling reinstating the ban.

That’s when former President Biden’s DOJ asked the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Appeals Court, and requesting the Court to expand the definition of discrimination based on sex to include transgender “healthcare discrimination”, based on the Fourth Amendment

On December 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case from the U.S. Solicitor General, along with an ACLU attorney for the petitioners, and Tennessee’s Attorney General for the state. The Court’s decision is expected to be handed down by June 30 2025.

But now there’s a new Trump twist in the case.

New Administration. New Position

Last Friday, Trump’s DOJ determined that SB1 “does not deny equal protection on account of sex or any other characteristic.” The DOJ also made clear that a Trump administration would not have intervened to challenge SB1 or petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse the decision of the lower Court of Appeals.

But here’s where the situation could get tricky.

Because the Supreme Court only accepted the Biden administration’s petition which focused on the equal protection clause, and not the petition of the parents and doctor, the Supreme Court could dismiss the case outright since the U.S. is no longer a party to the case and the parents would have to refile a new petition to the Court.

In other words, the case could start from scratch.

So, while the U.S. has withdrawn from the case as a petitioner, the Trump administration is urging the Court to still rule on the case instead of dismissing it.

The DOJ’s letter to the Court argued…

“The United States believes that the confluence of several factors counsels against seeking to dismiss its case in this Court. The Court’s prompt resolution of the question presented will bear on many cases pending in the lower courts.”

The Trump DOJ’s new position may be due to the fact that after oral arguments on December 4^th the six conservative justices on the court appear likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments.

Half of the nation’s states have bans on transgender treatments for minors, as well as bans on transgender student athletes playing on teams not aligned with their biological sex, i.e. biological males playing on female teams.

Lawyers for the families condemned the government’s withdrawal stating, “this latest move from the Trump administration is another indication that they are using the power of the federal government to target marginalized groups for further discrimination.”

Tennessee’s Attorney General, John Skrmetti replied to this latest Trump move with this statement, “we commend President Trump for abandoning the previous administration’s effort to enshrine gender ideology into the Constitution and prevent the people’s elected officials from resolving these important contentious issues… We look forward to receiving much-needed clarity when the Court issues its decision.”

Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision

The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the case comes as no surprise to many, and falls in line with his campaign promise to stop the “transgender madness.”

Since his inauguration, Trump has issued executive orders:

• declaring it US policy that there are only two genders – male and female;
• cutting funding for hospitals that provide trans treatments for those under age 19, as well as removing federal funding, including grants, to hospitals conducting transgender research;
• banning biological males from participating in female sports, including high school and college, or risk of losing their federal funding;
• refusing to grant visas to transgender athletes at the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A.;
• barring biological male prisoners from being confined in women’s prisons;
• forbidding the use of Medicare and Medicaid funds to be used for transgender treatments, as well as prohibiting trans treatments from military or federal employees health insurance;
• banning new trans recruits from joining the military and requiring the Pentagon to determine a policy for current trans service members based on readiness and standards.

Even with the Trump administration no longer promoting the radical trans agenda and returning the country to common sense, and 59% of voters supporting a federal ban on transgender care for minors, the Supreme Court decision could have as big an impact on the country as Roe v. Wade.

First, if the Supreme Court agrees to continue deliberating the Skrmetti case without the U.S. as petitioner, their decision regarding the equal protection clause applying to transgender healthcare could have significant ramifications. For instance…

If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Tennessee’s ban, all the current 26 state bans would remain in effect, and would resolve the question of what state’s can and cannot do in regulating transgender issues. Children would be protected from this evil ideology that intends to separate children from God’s good and perfect design for their lives.

But if the Supreme Court rules for the private petitioners, then the Skrmetti case could become the precedent case for future LGBTQ+ lawsuits whereby gender identity would be considered a protected class deserving of the same civil rights as protected rights based on race.

Biological males will be allowed to play in girls’ sports, use girl’s bathrooms and lockers rooms, enter women’s prisons, and no state could ban the trans treatments of minors.

Plus, if these bans are declared unconstitutionally discriminatory, this ruling could be the basis for more lawsuits, such as: increasing indoctrination of the LGBTQ agenda in public schools and libraries; and the removal of children by the State from parents who do not support the transgendering of their child.

What’s more… ALL of President Trump’s Executive Orders regarding trans issues will be null and void. In addition, any effort to pass a federal law banning transgender treatments to minors will be moot.

Let’s PRAY!

So let us continue to pray for the Justices to discern God’s wisdom and decide righteously so they may please God and not the transgender lobby.

Let us pray that the Court’s desire to protect children from medical and physical harm will outweigh any other consideration.

Let us pray for the spiritual and physical protection of the justices and their families from the enemy.

Let us thank God for President Trump’s boldness in restoring God’s creative covenant of two sexes and his repudiation of the devil’s evil schemes to harm our children and our nation with his demonic transgender lies

Let us pray for a very decisive decision that will put a halt to the transgender assault on America’s children.

Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:3-5 NKJV).

This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another’ (Zechariah 7:9 NIV).

For additional prayers and scriptures, check out the article “Pray for SCOTUS Arguments in the ‘Transgender Case,’” published last year on IFA’s Headline Prayer.

Add your own prayers and scriptures in the comments below.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Pacamah – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132331248.