After a string of losses in its anti-trans project, DOJ turns to grand jury subpoenas in Texas

Key Points:

• The Trump administration has shifted tactics in its effort to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender minors by using the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas to issue grand jury subpoenas seeking patient-specific information from medical providers.
• This shift follows multiple federal judges blocking previous DOJ attempts to obtain patient records through administrative subpoenas, including a notable rejection by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun and ongoing litigation involving Rhode Island Hospital.
• The DOJ’s enforcement of a subpoena against Rhode Island Hospital in Texas, granted by Judge Reed O’Connor without the hospital's knowledge or opportunity to respond, raised legal and jurisdictional questions, prompting the hospital to appeal and seek a stay.
• Rhode Island federal Judge Mary McElroy criticized the DOJ’s tactics during a hearing, accusing the department of "shopping" the case to a favorable judge and misleading the court; she subsequently quashed the administrative subpoena and barred the DOJ from seeking related documents.
• The controversy highlights ongoing legal battles over the Trump administration’s anti-transgender policies and the DOJ’s aggressive use of subpoenas to investigate providers of gender-affirming care to minors.