Washington AG Sues Over Trump Order Seeking to Restrict Care for Trans Youth

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown on Friday sued the Trump administration over an executive order threatening to stop federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown speaks at a press conference on Feb. 7, 2025 where he announced a lawsuit against President Trump’s executive order that seeks to curtail federal support for health care services provided to transgender youth. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)

President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order, entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” states “it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another.”

Trump’s order directs federal insurance programs to exclude gender-affirming care from coverage. This includes Medicaid, which provides health coverage for low-income Americans, and TRICARE for members of the military.

The order also calls for federal agencies to cut off grants to hospitals and medical schools providing gender-affirming care to young people under age 19.

“This president, on a day-to-day basis, invites tragedy and chaos with his dehumanization of people and our communities in his attempt to implement a corrupt vision for America,” Brown said during a press conference in Seattle on Friday morning.

Minnesota and Oregon joined Washington in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Three doctors are also plaintiffs in the case, anonymously representing themselves and their young patients.

“President Trump’s attempt to withhold federal funds from states that offer health care to transgender Washingtonians is unlawful and cruel,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “Washington is a place that supports every resident’s civil rights.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brown has asked a judge to approve an emergency order temporarily blocking the executive action.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of Seattle Children’s Hospital reportedly postponing gender-affirming surgeries for people under age 19 in light of the president’s order.

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union and others sued in Maryland on behalf of two transgender adults and five adolescents over disruptions they say the executive order caused.

Gender-affirming care can include puberty blockers for adolescents, hormone therapy and surgery.

In the Washington case, the states argue the executive order violates the equal protection against discrimination guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

They also say it’s another example of the president trying to cut off federal funding Congress has already appropriated. A judge in Rhode Island last week ruled the White House couldn’t claw back money for a host of programs.

Brown also said the order violates the 10th Amendment by trying to regulate medical practices in the state.

“This order, like so many other things this president is doing, is illegal and unconstitutional,” the attorney general said. “But having read this order very, very closely, I need to say something more. This president’s order is gross. It is disgusting, it is hateful.”

Luna Crone-Baron, a 19-year-old student at the University of Washington, said she often felt suicidal at a young age, “feeling that I would rather die than go through male puberty.”

“It was only because of the overwhelming love and support of my family and of my ability to get the care that I needed from my doctor that I am able to be here today, and that I believe is the reason that I’m alive today,” Crone-Baron said at the press conference. “This order will kill trans children.”

The lawsuit is Brown’s third against the Trump administration in as many weeks.

He scored the first victory in court nationwide against the president after a judge issued a 14-day pause on enforcing Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship. On Thursday, Washington and three other states involved in the suit got a judge to sign a preliminary injunction indefinitely blocking the order.

Brown also was part of a coalition of attorneys general that sued over the White House budget office’s freeze of federal financial assistance.

On Thursday, over a dozen states announced plans to sue over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency obtaining broad access to the federal government’s computer systems.

Asked if Washington planned to join that lawsuit, an attorney general’s office spokesperson said, “We’re looking at it, but it’s a total onslaught from D.C. so we only have so much capacity as we consider impacts to Washington, constitutionality, standing, and the legal actions we can take.”

“The federal litigation team is working so much we need a word stronger than ‘overtime,’” spokesperson Mike Faulk said in an email.

Brown said his office is reviewing every order the president signs.

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by Jake Goldstein-Street, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.