Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump DOJ From Seizing Trans Medical Files

A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from seizing transgender patients' medical records from New York hospitals, halting what she called an "egregious" and unconstitutional overreach. The ruling matters now because it blocks federal prosecutors in Texas from accessing years of highly sensitive health data while the court weighs whether the subpoenas were issued in bad faith. The decision immediately protects transgender patients, their families, and providers-and signals that broader limits on the administration's investigative tactics may follow.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla issued the temporary restraining order one day after oral arguments, sharply criticizing the Justice Department for using criminal probes to obtain records that courts had already rejected through civil channels. She described the government's pursuit of the identities and treatment histories of a "uniquely vulnerable group" as "most egregious," adding that the administration had, from its earliest days, sought to "demonize and eradicate an entire population of transgender individuals."

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

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This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 10:05 AM.