The Trump administration has called for an investigation into transgender medical care, leading to a subpoena of personal medical records.
Published June 24, 2026
A federal judge has blocked the Department of Justice (DOJ) from issuing a subpoena for the medical records of a transgender patient who received gender reassignment care from a New York health care provider as a minor.
On Wednesday, District Judge Katherine Polk Feira issued a temporary restraining order barring access to confidential files.
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Her decision came after the hospital revealed it had received a subpoena from Justice Department officials, and several families and patients filed lawsuits in response.
Failla said the subpoenas issued by President Donald Trump’s administration could constitute a violation of patient privacy.
“Whether by accident or design, the administration’s policies toward transgender people represent a concerted effort to obtain confidential information about a whole spectrum of individuals without their knowledge or consent,” the judges wrote in their ruling.
Trump has led a crackdown on transgender protections since returning to office for a second term.
On his first day back in the White House, Republican leaders issued an executive order directing the federal government to reject the concept of gender and recognize only two sexes: male and female.
He followed this order with a series of policy changes restricting transgender access and services. On January 28, 2025, he signed a directive restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
As part of the order, he called on the Justice Department to “prioritize the investigation and take appropriate steps to end these medical practices.”
Shortly after, in February 2025, the Pentagon released a memo effectively banning transgender personnel from serving in the military, stating that their gender does not “fit the high mental and physical standards” required for military service.
Critics have criticized the Trump administration’s efforts as a concerted effort to marginalize and marginalize transgender people and question the legitimacy of their identity.
Failla reiterated that assessment in Wednesday’s order.
She said the administration aims to “identify, demonize, and ultimately eliminate the entire population of transgender people.”
Her current restraining order is scheduled to last for 14 days. Failla scheduled an additional hearing on July 8 to decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction to extend the Justice Department’s blockage of access to confidential medical records.
The subpoenas to access New York state medical records were issued by a grand jury in the Northern District of Texas, part of the federal court system seen as a venue sympathetic to conservative causes.
But judges across the country have blocked several of the roughly 20 subpoenas issued by Texas courts to clinics and doctors that provide care for transgender people.
“Today’s order from the court is a victory for fundamental privacy for our clients and all families like them across New York City,” Omar Gonzalez Pagan, the plaintiffs’ attorney for the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal, said in a statement.
