Today, the Trump administration announced new rules that would end gender-affirming care for minors at hospitals across the country.At a news conference led by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the administration said it would bar all federal funding for any hospital in the United States that provided the care. Related House passes Marjorie Taylor Greenes bill to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth Federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid accounts for nearly 45% of all spending on hospital care, according to KFF, the nonprofit health policy research group.Stopping it would be a death sentence hospitals have such razor-thin margins as it is, Caroline Farrell, a former lawyer for the office of general counsel at HHS, told The New York Times. The proposed rule means just forcing them to stop the care, she said. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The administration is targeting all gender-related treatments for minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries. Gender-affirming genital surgeries are never performed on minors, while some older teens who meet certain requirements can only rarely access some other kinds of surgeries.The announcement comes amid an onslaught of new regulations and proposed legislation banning the care that goes far beyond previous efforts, and advances Donald Trumps erasure of transgender identity, beginning with his executive order in January recognizing only two sexes: male and female. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would criminalize gender-affirming care for minors nationwide, subjecting providers to up to 10 years in federal prison.Three Democrats joined the Republican majority to pass the bill, which faces long odds in the Senate.The House is expected to vote on Thursday on another bill that would end Medicaid funding for the same treatments.Todays announcement from Kennedy and Mehmet Oz, the talk show host turned administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at HHS, included a threat from the Food and Drug Administration, demanding 12 manufacturers of chest binders end illegal marketing of the garments as a treatment for gender dysphoria. The new actions come as hospitals are already relenting to pressure to end gender-affirming care for minors, and options for the treatment of gender dysphoria dwindle for patients.After the Supreme Court upheld Tennessees ban on medical care for trans minors in June, a wave of hospitals specializing in the treatments shut down preemptively, in a preview of todays actions.Childrens Hospital Los Angeles notified staff members in June that the clinic would close, citing the potential termination of federal funds accounting for 65 percent of its budget. Loss of that funding would be an existential threat to our hospital operations, they said at the time. Despite those closures, the Supreme Courts ruling in Skrmetti left it to the states to determine whether or not gender-affirming care would remain legal and available in their jurisdictions. While most red states ban the care, blue states generally do not.Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the decision to provide or withhold the care should be resolved by the people, their elected representatives and the democratic process.The Trump administrations new rules override that assessment. The Courts rationale was to defer to democracy and let different states make different decisions, said Josh Block with the American Civil Liberties Union. This attempt to unilaterally impose a nationwide ban by executive fiat without any actual legislation authorizing it undermines the entire rationale for upholding the law in Skrmetti in the first place.Crazy how Trump is flailing, Epstein files are coming out, the economy is going to s**t, and Republicans are defecting and the first thing his admin does is pivot to attacking trans people, said Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic instructor Alejandra Caraballo. Its all they know. Just distract everyone from whats important by attacking a vulnerable minority group.Crazy how Trump is flailing, Epstein files are coming out, the economy is going to shit, and Republicans are defecting and the first thing his admin does is pivot to attacking trans people. It's all they know. Just distract everyone from what's important by attacking a vulnerable minority group. Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) 2025-12-18T18:27:04.859ZThe new rules earned scathing condemnation from trans rights supporters.Trump and his ideologues want to erase trans people from existence. Thats always been the plan, said California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), who called the proposed rules illegal and repugnant. But he also said the move is a proposal with many steps remaining before it is finalized. Hospitals need not and should not comply while it is being considered by regulators.Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, echoed that sentiment.These rules are proposals, not binding law, she said. Community members, health care providers, administrators, and our allies should be vocal in pushing back by sharing the ways these proposals would be devastating to their families and the health care community at large.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.