Washington AG Nick Brown argues to protect gender-affirming care in 9th Circuit
Mar 5, 2026, 5:13 PM
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. (Photo: Jason Redmond via Getty Images)
(Photo: Jason Redmond via Getty Images)
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown was back in court Thursday morning, arguing to protect Washingtonians’ right to gender-affirming care for young people.
Brown went before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to defend a district court’s preliminary injunction, issued last year to block President Trump’s executive order, which sought to cut off all federal funding to hospitals, like Seattle Children’s, that provide gender-affirming care.
“In Washington state law, you’re entitled to healthcare whether you’re cisgender, transgender, no matter what,” Brown said. “And we don’t want to let one President override the state protections here in Washington.”
The Trump administration appealed the preliminary injunction, arguing it was invalid. Brown believes the appeals court should affirm the preliminary injunction.
“The executive orders the President issued are unconstitutional. They violate the 5th Amendment equal protection guarantees,” Brown said. “We also argued the orders violated the separation of powers and usurped Congressional authority.”
“Hopefully, in the next few months, the Court of Appeals will issue an order,” Brown continued. “We think that they will and should affirm the district court’s order, but we will have to wait for the appeals court to issue their ruling.”
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