US top court nixes Trump admin's bid to restrict medical care for transgender inmates

The Trump administration appealed, arguing that the treatments raised security concerns and 'could no longer be justified.' A divided appeals court panel declined to lift the block, prompting the administration to approach the Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to let President Donald Trump’s administration immediately enforce restrictions on medical care for transgender inmates, leaving in place a lower-court order that allows treatments to continue while a legal challenge proceeds.The brief order did not explain the court’s reasoning. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying they would have allowed the policy to take effect as the case moved through the lower courts.The policy followed an executive order by Trump, a Republican who has taken several steps to roll back transgender rights during his second term. It directs the Bureau of Prisons to revise its medical care rules so that federal funds are not spent “for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.”Under the policy, prisons would halt gender-affirming surgeries, gradually withdraw hormone therapy and end social accommodations such as ...