Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoenas for Transgender Care Records

On June 24 2026, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla issued a 14-day restraining order blocking the Department of Justice from obtaining medical records of transgender patients who received gender-affirming care at New York City hospitals. The order stops grand-jury and administrative subpoenas issued by a Texas grand jury.

Reuters

President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 2025 executive order ended federal support for gender-affirming care for minors and directed the DOJ to prioritize investigations. After judges blocked more than 20 civil subpoenas, the DOJ shifted to grand-jury subpoenas from the Northern District of Texas to bypass prior rulings.

Reuters

Judge Katherine Polk Failla (Southern District of New York); the Trump administration’s Department of Justice; plaintiffs represented by Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the New York Civil Liberties Union; and the hospitals NYU Langone Health and Mount Sinai Health System, which received the subpoenas.

The Advocate

The subpoenas covered six years of records (Jan 2020 – May 5 2026) from NYU Langone, which treated at least 40 patients, and from Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Brown University Health’s Rhode Island Hospital. Twenty-seven states have limited or banned gender-affirming care for minors.

The Advocate

Judge Failla said the subpoenas “shocks the conscience” and violate Fourth- and Fifth-Amendment rights, finding no legitimate need. The DOJ declined comment. Plaintiffs’ counsel called the order a privacy victory and warned the subpoenas could be used to prosecute patients or parents.

Newsweek

Critics say the probe is a pretext to pressure providers and intimidate transgender families. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio called the demand “impermissible and harassing,” and Lambda Legal’s Omar Gonzalez-Pagan warned it should “send chills down the spine of every American.”

The Advocate

Families said disclosure could expose them to retaliation, prompting NYU Langone to halt its transgender-youth program in 2026.

The Advocate

The DOJ says the subpoenas target alleged “misbranding” of FDA-approved drugs and fraudulent billing; plaintiffs argue the request is overly broad and intended to suppress lawful care. No court has yet ruled on any underlying criminal conduct.

Newsweek

• “The scope of information sought by the government here, which includes medical assessments, diagnoses, informed consent records, and revelation of plaintiffs’ transgender status, is significant,” — Judge Katherine Polk Failla

CNN

• “Because I cannot conceive of a crime that would require the breadth of disclosures in the subpoena – identifying and sensitive medical information for an entire class of people for a six-year period – I have to find that the government’s interest does not outweigh the plaintiffs’ interest in privacy,” — Judge Katherine Polk Failla

CNN

• “Today’s order from the court is a victory for the basic privacy of our clients and all families like theirs across New York City,” — Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Lambda Legal

Al Jazeera (website)

• “Patients and families trust their doctors with their most intimate, private information and should trust in turn that this information will be protected from impermissible and harassing demands for disclosure from the federal government or anyone else,” — Chase Strangio, ACLU

CNN

• “Undeterred by its disastrous showing in the courts, DOJ decided to issue nearly identical document requests in the form of grand jury subpoenas,” — Judge Katherine Polk Failla

CNN

A July 8 2026 hearing will decide whether to convert the temporary order into an injunction, extending the block.

Newsweek