Federal judge unloads on 'unserious' RFK Jr., says anti-trans policy showed his 'cruelty'https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/judge-calls-rfk-unserious 🔗Christopher Wiggins (18 Apr 2026)
A federal judge in Oregon on Saturday forcefully struck down Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s attempt to impose far-reaching restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, ruling the policy unlawful and blocking its enforcement in the states that challenged it.
In a final judgment dated April 18, U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai vacated the so-called "Kennedy Declaration," finding it exceeded the administration's authority, violated federal rulemaking requirements, and conflicted with existing law.
The ruling delivers a sharp rebuke to one of the Trump administration's most aggressive efforts to reshape transgender health care policy through executive action alone.
The court held that federal officials "lack the authority to unilaterally establish standards of care" for gender-affirming treatment and cannot exclude providers from Medicare or Medicaid for offering care consistent with accepted medical guidelines. Judge Kasubhai also permanently enjoined the federal government from enforcing the declaration or any similar policy against providers in the plaintiff states, ordering agencies to halt enforcement and notify officials within seven days.
