President Donald Trump just handed Democrats a politically uncomfortable question heading into the midterms: Should taxpayers be required to pay for gender-transition treatments for children?
The Trump administration finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender-transition surgeries for minors. The rule takes effect Oct. 13.
The treatments aren’t being outlawed. States can still cover them – they’ll just have to use their own money.
In other words: Your policy, your taxpayers, your bill.
“Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.
Trump also made clear he considers the issue political ammunition for November, urging voters to remember where the parties stand.
On Truth Social, Trump celebrated the upcoming changes, saying that taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for “barbaric surgeries and practices” that create “unthinkable and irreversible harm.”
Medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association oppose the administration’s position and argue treatment decisions should remain with patients, parents and doctors. Democratic attorneys general have also challenged federal restrictions on transgender treatment for minors.
So the battle now moves to the courts – and the ballot box.