Appeals court revives DOJ subpoena for child transgender drug provider
A federal appeals court has reinstated the Justice Department’s subpoena for records from QueerDoc, a telehealth provider offering transgender procedures for children, benefiting the Trump management’s efforts to investigate providers of such care. The court, in a 2-1 decision, found that a prior district judge erred in ruling the subpoena was issued in bad faith or was intended to pressure QueerDoc to stop providing gender-affirming treatments. The subpoena requested personnel files, billing, and patient records to examine compliance with federal healthcare laws. QueerDoc challenged the subpoena, arguing it was politically motivated, but the appeals court rejected this argument, stating the administration’s stance on transgender treatments did not inherently indicate improper purpose. The ruling marks the frist appellate decision supporting a DOJ subpoena targeting a provider of transgender services for minors under Trump, despite previous court blocks. dissenting Judge Richard Paez argued there was significant evidence of DOJ using investigations to pressure providers to cease offering such treatments.The case highlights ongoing legal and political conflicts over transgender healthcare policies, with the DOJ asserting its authority to investigate compliance and the Biden-appointed judge criticizing perceived misuse of criminal probes to restrict transgender care.
A federal appeals court revived the Justice Department‘s subpoena on Friday for records from QueerDoc, a telehealth provider that offers services including transgender procedures for children, handing the Trump administration a victory in its push to investigate providers of transgender medical care for children.
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said a Seattle federal judge erred by finding the subpoena had been issued in bad faith and was meant to pressure QueerDoc to stop providing so-called “gender-affirming” care.
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“The President may direct DOJ to exercise its statutory authority in a manner that aligns with his broader policy goals,” Circuit Judge Carlos Bea wrote for the majority. Bea, a nominee of former President George W. Bush, was joined by Circuit Judge Daniel Bress, a nominee of President Donald Trump. The court returned the case to the district court to consider the clinic’s remaining arguments that the subpoena is overly broad and would impose an undue burden on the small provider.
The subpoena sought personnel files, billing records, patient records, and other documents from QueerDoc. The DOJ said it was seeking materials relevant to a potential investigation of federal healthcare offenses, including whether providers had complied with federal law.
QueerDoc challenged the demand after the Trump administration began issuing similar subpoenas to hospitals and clinics nationwide that provide transgender drugs and surgeries to children. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a nominee of former President Joe Biden, blocked the subpoena last year, concluding the government was using the prospect of a criminal investigation to advance the administration’s policy goal of ending such treatments.
The appeals court rejected that conclusion, finding the administration’s opposition to sex change drugs and surgeries for children did not by itself establish an improper purpose for the subpoena.
The ruling is the first appellate decision to uphold a DOJ subpoena targeting a provider of transgender drugs and surgeries for children under the Trump administration. Lower courts have blocked several similar demands.
Circuit Judge Richard Paez, a nominee of former President Bill Clinton, dissented. He wrote that there was “a mountain of evidence” that the DOJ used the threat of a criminal investigation to pressure healthcare providers to stop offering pediatric transgender drugs and surgeries.
Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office, directing the federal government to end support for transgender treatments for children and instructing the DOJ to prioritize investigations related to those treatments.
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Brett Shumate, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division at the department, praised the ruling in a post on X, writing that the decision confirmed the DOJ could investigate whether hospitals providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children had complied with federal law.
“The trans medical industry is not above the law,” Shumate wrote.
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