Justice Department Offers $25,000 Bonuses to Attorneys Targeting Youth Transgender Care Investigations

The Civil Division of the U.S. Justice Department posted new attorney job listings that include a $25,000 bonus for lawyers who elect to investigate gender-affirming medical treatment for minors. The same listings also note retention payments of $60 to $220 per pay period for attorneys who remain in the division and continue pursuing enforcement actions aligned with former President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The Advocate

In the early months of Trump’s second term, an executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” prohibited gender-related health care for anyone under age 19. The order specifically targeted puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth. Since then, the Justice Department, under former Attorney General Pam Bondi and now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, has pursued information about such care across the nation, despite repeated judicial rebuffs that cite patient-privacy protections and state-level resistance.

The Advocate

• Bonus amount for targeted investigations: $25,000 per attorney.

The Advocate

• Retention incentives: $60–$220 per pay period.

The Advocate

• Reported staffing decline: the American Bar Association notes a drop from roughly 10,000 attorneys in the previous administration to about 5,500 as of November.

The Advocate

Justice Department officials have framed the incentive program as a response to a critical shortage of civil-division attorneys and as a means to sustain enforcement of policies enacted during the Trump administration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has overseen the continuation of investigations into gender-affirming care, while the department’s public filings emphasize compliance with existing executive directives.

The Advocate

Federal judges have repeatedly blocked the department’s attempts to obtain medical records or to condition funding on compliance with the anti-transgender order. A Maryland judge denied a request for records from Children’s National Hospital, and a Pennsylvania court halted a similar effort targeting the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. More recently, the Rhode Island Office of Child Advocate filed an emergency motion to quash a DOJ demand for records on minors treated for gender dysphoria, citing a Texas court order that the department was trying to enforce.

The Advocate

The bonus scheme directly links attorney compensation to the pursuit of controversial anti-transgender policies, potentially increasing the department’s capacity to file lawsuits and issue subpoenas. If successful, the approach could reshape the legal landscape for gender-affirming care, affect funding streams for health providers, and set precedents for how federal agencies incentivize policy enforcement.

The Advocate

Public sources do not disclose how many attorneys have accepted the bonuses or the exact budget allocated for the incentive program. Additionally, the Justice Department has not released an official statement confirming the program’s scope beyond the job listings, leaving the full extent of its implementation unclear.

The Advocate

• “Transphobes with law degrees could soon land $25,000 bonuses with the Justice Department.” — Bloomberg Law report

The Advocate

• “The bonuses are also being offered to those interested in enforcing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.” — Bloomberg Law report

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• “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” — Executive order title (President Donald Trump)

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• “Last month, a federal judge denied a request from the Justice Department to stay a preliminary injunction that bars federal officials from conditioning or terminating funding for health care providers delivering gender-affirming care to youth.” — Federal court ruling

The Advocate

• “Related: DOJ hedges on Trump's anti-trans views while defending military ban in federal appeals court Additionally, the federal agency has begun offering retention incentives in the Civil Division of $60 to $220 each pay period for attorneys who stay on and pursue enforcement of Trump’s agenda in court.” — Bloomberg Law report

The Advocate

The Justice Department continues to recruit attorneys under the bonus program while litigation over gender-affirming care proceeds in multiple federal courts. Anticipated developments include further judicial rulings on record-access requests, potential appeals of recent injunctions, and additional motions by child-advocacy groups seeking to limit the department’s investigative reach.

The Advocate