A Federal District Court in Washington (Lauren King) has issued a preliminary injunction on behalf of four states and several physicians seeking to enjoin several federal agencies from enforcing portions of two Executive Orders signed by President Trump to utilize his preferred definitions of “sex” “male,” “female” and “gender identity” (EO 14,168) and to stop funding for treatment of transgender patients (E.O. 14,187).
The Court found that the states of Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington and the physicians had standing to challenge most of the provisions of the Orders that they sought to enjoin. It also found that they were likely to prevail on the merits of the separation-of-powers challenge and their equal protection challenge. It also found that the Orders’ savings clauses did not undermine the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success, that the plaintiffs showed a likelihood of serious and irreparable harm, and that the public interest strongly favored an injunction.
The Court said that the gender ideology Order reflects a “bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group” and “denies and denigrates the very existence of transgender people — despite the evidence that they do exist and have ‘as long as human history has been recorded.’” (Washington v. Trump, W.D. WA, No. 2:25-cv-00244, 2/28/25.)
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