One of a dozen inmates drops lawsuit against Trump transgender prison policy

The inmate, whom court documents identify only as Sophia Doe, dropped his claim on Monday. Doe was one of a dozen men who filed the lawsuit against Attorney General Pamela Bondi and other members of the Trump administration in January. The men, who identify as transgender women, sued to block the enforcement of a Jan. 20 executive order signed by President Donald Trump designating biological sex as the standard for the definition of “man” and “woman.” Based on that order, the Trump administration required that the plaintiffs be moved to prison facilities matching their biological sex.

Has that happened yet? A federal judge in the District of Columbia in February blocked the inmates’ transfer. Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s temporary injunction also said prisons must continue to fund transgender procedures and hormones for the inmates.

Lamberth’s order blocked two provisions of the executive order, which Lamberth said wasn’t enough to override the original housing assignments made in each plaintiff’s case.

Did the judge’s order apply to all transgender-identifying inmates? The order only blocks the U.S. government from moving the 12 named plaintiffs to low-security men’s prisons. Some other male prisoners identifying as women in February received notifications that they would be transferred to men’s prisons, according to The Marshall Project.

Why did the inmate drop his claim? No reason was provided in the court filing, but it noted that the decision was made voluntarily.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s analysis of the House’s proposed changes to Medicaid, including removing funding for transgender procedures on children.