Trump Administration Moves to Block Transition Care for Minors Across U.S.

The Trump administration announced Thursday it would begin steps to end transition‑related care for minors nationwide.

HHS Actions

A department official said, “These actions will ensure that the federal government in no way funds directly gender transition procedures on minors and also does not fund facilities that perform these procedures,” during a call with reporters Thursday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials are scheduled to provide details later Thursday.

The HHS official said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin rulemaking to prohibit hospitals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries to minors as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid, and to bar Medicaid funding from being used for such care.

FDA Warning Letters

HHS also announced that the Food and Drug Administration will issue warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers of breast binders for minors used to treat gender dysphoria, alleging illegal marketing.

Office for Civil Rights Proposal

The Office for Civil Rights proposed a revision to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that the definition of “disability” excludes gender dysphoria that does not result from physical impairments. The clarification aims to resolve ambiguity introduced in 2024 that suggested gender dysphoria may qualify as a disability.

Timeline and Context

The proposed CMS rules will be finalized after a 60‑day comment period, the department official said. The moves are part of a broader Trump effort to restrict transgender care for minors and adults.

Earlier this year, President Trump issued executive orders declaring that there are only two unchangeable sexes and barring federal funding to hospitals providing transition‑related care to minors. In May, HHS released a review declaring that the evidence regarding the effects of gender‑affirming care for minors is “very low.”

Since then, 27 states have enacted measures limiting access to certain transition treatments for minors. Families have traveled to states where care remains legal. In July, a federal investigation prompted more than 20 hospitals—including those in Los Angeles and Boston—to roll back or end their gender‑affirming care programs for minors and some young adults.

The restrictions prompted trans adults and families to leave the country. Rachel Gonzales, whose three children are fifth‑generation Texans, said she and her husband moved their 15‑year‑old daughter Libby and two other children out of the United States because of the federal actions. She explained, “Living in Texas, we became targets of politicians who have boldly rejected the consensus of medical experts and decided that they know better than Libby, my husband and I, and our team of physicians and have opted to use us as their political targets, instead of allowing us the parental rights that they so claim to advocate for.”

Just before the HHS announcement, the House passed a bill that would charge doctors with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison if they provide gender‑affirming care for minors. Introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the legislation is expected to die in the Senate but marks the harshest federal penalty for doctors providing transition‑related care to minors ever passed by the House. Greene called the bill’s passage “a win for children all over America.”

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R‑Texas, introduced another bill the House will vote on Thursday that would prohibit Medicaid from covering gender transition procedures for anyone under 18.

Key Takeaways

• Trump administration initiates CMS rulemaking to block puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for minors.
• FDA will send warning letters to 12 breast‑binder manufacturers and retailers.
• Office for Civil Rights seeks to redefine disability to exclude gender dysphoria.

The announcement marks the latest chapter in a long‑running federal campaign to limit transgender care for minors and adults.