The Republican-Controlled U.S. House of Representative Passes Major Bill 216 - 211 - Now Federal Employees File Complaint...
Washington, D.C. — The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would criminalize the provision of gender transition treatments to minors, including surgeries and hormone therapies, by a vote of 216 to 211. The measure, which imposes penalties of up to ten years in federal prison for providers, advanced nearly along party lines and reflects a key priority of the Trump administration and conservative lawmakers.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) played a central role in bringing the bill to the floor. She had conditioned her support for a separate defense policy measure on Speaker Mike Johnson allowing the vote, describing the legislation as fulfillment of one of President Donald Trump’s major campaign pledges to ban gender-affirming medical procedures for minors. During floor debate, Greene displayed images of surgical outcomes and stated that “most Americans agree that kids just need to grow up before they do anything radical, like a mastectomy on a 15-year-old girl.”
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate, where it would require bipartisan support to proceed. Civil rights organizations have described it as among the most restrictive measures of its kind ever considered by Congress.
Separately, the Trump administration is moving forward with a policy change effective Thursday that eliminates coverage for “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits” in federal employee and U.S. Postal Service health insurance plans. The Office of Personnel Management announced the shift in August.
In response, the Human Rights Campaign filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday on behalf of affected federal workers. The grievance argues that the policy constitutes sex-based discrimination and seeks its revocation. Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Kelley Robinson stated, “This policy is not about cost or care—it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce.”
The complaint includes statements from four current federal employees at the State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and Postal Service. One case involves a Postal Service employee whose daughter has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and whose doctors have recommended puberty blockers and possibly hormone replacement therapy—treatments that would no longer be covered.
The workers are pursuing the claim on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of similarly situated federal employees.
The administration has taken additional steps to restrict gender-transition care, particularly for minors. In December, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed rules that would prohibit such care for minors and deny Medicare and Medicaid funding to hospitals that provide it. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly characterized gender-affirming care for minors as “malpractice.”
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These positions stand in contrast to the recommendations of major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which support access to such care under appropriate medical supervision.
The developments occur as Rep. Greene announced last month that she will leave Congress one year before the end of her term. The House action and related policy changes continue to fuel national debate over transgender healthcare, parental rights, and the role of government in medical decisions involving minors.
