Attorney General Ellison sues to end unconstitutional presidential order criminalizing, ending funding for gender-affirming care

February 7, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison, alongside the attorneys general of Washington and Oregon, filed a federal lawsuit today to halt an executive order President Donald Trump issued that would end federal funding to medical institutions providing gender-affirming care.

President Trump’s illegal executive order also directs unconstitutional criminal enforcement against medical professionals and patients involved in such care. Additionally, the executive order directs the Department of Justice to investigate and act against states like Minnesota that have passed legislation to prohibit the enforcement of another state's law requiring a child to be removed from their parent for accessing medically necessary physical or mental health care that affirms the child's identity. The lawsuit seeks to block federal agencies from acting on this order.

“Our children deserve so much better than to be targeted, intimidated, and denied medically necessary healthcare by the President of the United States and his billionaire cronies,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “Gender-affirming care is evidence based, provided by licensed and trained medical professionals, and provided with the consent of a young person’s parents or legal guardians. President Trump’s executive order is not only illegal, it’s mean-spirited and deeply hurtful, so I’m filing a lawsuit to end it. I will not stand by and let Donald Trump weaponize the federal government against young people just trying to be themselves and against doctors providing the best care they can to their patients.”

Attorney General Ellison argues this order violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal-protection guarantee by singling out transgender individuals for mistreatment and discrimination. Further, the president cannot unilaterally overrule laws passed by Congress and Congress has already authorized research and education funding for medical institutions in Minnesota and all states. The coalition also notes the president cannot unilaterally regulate or criminalize medical practices in Minnesota, which is a state issue and is protected by the Tenth Amendment.

The executive order, issued on January 28, directs agencies to cut off federal research and education grants to medical institutions, including hospitals and medical schools, that provide gender-affirming care to anyone under the age of 19. This would prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants from flowing to state medical schools and hospitals.

Providers tell the Attorney General’s Office they fear for the safety of patients and their families. One provider who filed a declaration as part of this lawsuit stated, in part:

“I do not believe that the government should be dictating whether trained medical professionals can provide evidence based medical care to their patients. It is problematic at best and killing people at worst. I am terrified that blocking gender-affirming care for minors will cause a mental health crisis and an increase in suicides in our adolescent population. My patients are already feeling the effects of the threats the government is making to deny them access to the medication and medical care they need. I have already seen an uptick in depression and anxiety in many of my patients generally, but especially among my gender-affirming care patients.”

In the motion for an emergency court order to block the executive action, Attorney General Ellison included examples of the harm that youth, parents, and medical providers, and state agencies are already enduring. A total of more than 100 witnesses, including 19 from Minnesota, provided evidence in support of the motion. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.