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Thursday, October 22, 2026

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Supreme Court · Thursday, October 22, 2026

Supreme Court keeps a block on prison hormone care

The File desk · Oct. 22, 2026, 6:40 a.m. ET

Confirmed3 primary sources

Status

Confirmed from the Supreme Court's order list for Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. The Court denied a stay in , No. . Justices Thomas and Alito would have granted it. The order is not a ruling on the policy, and it does not say how every justice voted.
  • Confirmed
    The application for a stay in was denied. Justice Thomas and Justice Alito would have granted it.
  • Confirmed
    The government's description of the prison policy is from its application. The Court did not decide that question.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pause a lower-court order that blocks a Federal Bureau of Prisons policy on care for inmates with gender dysphoria. The case is , No. . Justice Thomas and Justice Alito would have granted the stay.1
The order list is numbered 610 U.S. and is dated Wednesday, October 21, 2026. The line says that the application for a stay was presented to the Chief Justice and referred to the Court, and that the application is denied. It then says Justice Thomas and Justice Alito would grant the application for a stay. The order does not count the other votes, and this story does not invent one.1
The government's application, filed Sept. 28, says the district court's order stops the Bureau of Prisons from enforcing a policy adopted earlier this year. Under that policy, the government says, prisons would keep providing mental-health treatment and would stop sex-trait-modification surgeries, hormone interventions in general, and social accommodations. The application says the district court found the policy likely arbitrary and capricious. Wednesday's order does not decide that. It only leaves the block in place for now.2
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. People in federal prison who are receiving this care keep the protection of the lower-court order, at least until the appeal is decided. The Supreme Court has not said the policy is lawful or unlawful. It has said the government may not put the policy into effect while that fight continues.
The docket number printed on Wednesday's order is .
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Supreme Court of the United States, Order List 610 U.S., Wednesday, October 21, 2026. https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102126zr_5i36.pdf “ TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. V. KINGDOM, ALISHEA S., ET AL. The application for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied. Justice Thomas and Justice Alito would grant the application for stay.” Docket: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/.html The order is not a ruling on the merits.
  2. 2.Government application, filed Sept. 28, 2026, by Solicitor General D. John Sauer. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26//425762/20260928095458720_Kingdom_Application_FINAL.pdf “The district court’s order in this case prohibits the enforcement of a policy that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) adopted earlier this year regarding health care for inmates with gender dysphoria.” The application says the Bureau “will continue to address gender dysphoria by providing mental-health treatment, but will no longer provide sex-trait-modification surgeries, hormone interventions in general, or social accommodations.” It says the district court found the policy likely arbitrary and capricious. Those sentences are the government's. This story does not say the vote was 7 to 2, and it does not give a count of inmates.

What is still unknown or disputed

  • How many justices voted to deny the stay. The order names only the two who would have granted it.
  • How many inmates the policy would cover. Not taken from the order.
  • When the appeals court will rule on the policy itself.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Order list, Oct. 21, 2026

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 21, 2026

    The application for stay in is denied. Justice Thomas and Justice Alito would grant the application for stay.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102126zr_5i36.pdf

  2. Source 2

    Docket 26A416

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 21, 2026

    , application for a stay.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a416.html

  3. Source 3

    Government application in Trump v. Kingdom

    Supreme Court of the United States · September 28, 2026

    The application describes the Bureau of Prisons policy and says a district court found it likely arbitrary and capricious.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A416/425762/20260928095458720_Kingdom_Application_FINAL.pdf

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