Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador led a 26-state coalition, along with Indiana, in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit supporting the federal government’s appeal in Doe v. Bondi.
The appeal challenges a lower court’s preliminary injunction against a Trump Administration policy that protects the dignity, safety, and privacy of female inmates by requiring federal prison housing assignments based on biological sex. The policy also prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for sex-change procedures in federal prisons.
In January 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Bureau of Prisons to house inmates according to their biological sex. It also prohibited federal funding for sex reassignment surgeries and related procedures in prisons and immigration detention centers.
Shortly after the policy was issued, a lawsuit was filed in federal court seeking to block the housing provisions and the restriction on taxpayer-funded procedures. The plaintiffs aim to compel federal prison officials to place biologically male inmates in female correctional facilities and to provide sex-change operations at public expense.
Idaho’s brief supports the federal government’s appeal and the Administration’s authority to enforce policies that prioritize safety and biological reality in federal custody.
