The Trump administration made an interesting pivot on Friday in the major case on gender-transitioning legislation. The case involving the Tennessee ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors is expected to establish new and significant precedent in the area. The oral argument appeared to favor the state. The problem is that, if the Trump Administration were to withdraw its challenge, it would work against the interests of Tennessee and other states in seeking a final resolution before the Court. Accordingly, the Trump Administration created a type of Pushmi-Pullyu position: it renounced the Biden position and then retained the challenge by encouraging the Court to move forward with a final decision.
Roughly half of the states (24 states, to be exact) have banned hormone therapy for transgender youth. In July 2023, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to such laws in Tennessee and Kentucky. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, now listed as U.S. v. Skrmetti.
Three transgender teens and their parents originally filed the Tennessee lawsuit against the state officials responsible for enforcing the ban. They argued that the state law, SB1, violates the Constitution because it prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy while allowing the use of the same treatments for other purposes.
The Biden administration supported their challenge with regard to the equal protection claim.
The problem is that the justices granted only the Biden administration’s petition for review on the equal protection question. While a lawyer for the families was allowed to argue in the December 4th oral arguments with the Biden Administration, a withdrawal of the case by the Trump Administration would have prevented the Court from issuing the opinions currently being written by the justices.
While the tradition had been for the federal government to maintain positions already argued before the Court by the prior administrations, both the Biden and Trump Administrations departed from that tradition.
However, Deputy Solicitor General Curtis Gannon wrote the Court a letter that adopted a more nuanced position. It notified the justices that “the government’s previously stated views” in the Tennessee case “no longer represent the United States’ position.” It did not come as a surprise. Indeed, just a week ago, President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19.
However, Gannon added that, while it “would not have intervened to challenge” the law, it supported the Court moving to a final decision in the case. Gannon cited the need for a “prompt resolution of” the equal protection question given the “many cases pending in the lower courts.”
Hence, the Pushmi-Pullyu position.
Notably, when Dr. Doolittle unveiled his Pushmi-Pullyu, the reaction of his duck was likely the same as many this week after the Gannon letter: “Lord save us! How does it make up its mind?”
The answer is that the novelty is precisely what appeals: “This is the pushmi-pullyu—the rarest animal of the African jungles, the only two-headed beast in the world! Take him home with you, and your fortune’s made. People will pay any money to see him.”
Indeed, they will.
A decision in the case is expected by summer.
Now I’m curious how common it is for the government to bring cases it doesn’t actually believe in and then intentionally throw them to create court precedents.
Rumor has it ….that Barack Obama goes both ways with the Pushmi-Pullyu.
A life insurance agent once observed that when one of his prospective clients asked if his private financial information was going to be protected from identity theft, the agent answered very simply:
“What are you so worried about? The Chinese already know everything about you!”
So……all this blather about access to information is moot —- we all KNOW the Chinese already hacked into our ‘safe and secure’ information storage systems —
The brainiacs from Silicon Valley ought to be hired to tighten up our systems — and hiring the best young hackers is the best way to hack-proof our information.
Even clinically-stupid democrats know that!
Even James Carville would agree
I invite Dennis McInliar to prove one word of his slanderous nonsense.
I believe DM is a bot programmed to print “Jonathan: “ followed by around 11 off-topic lies produced daily by the DNC.
Jonathan: Just waiting for the Chiefs and Eagles game. So I thought we could discuss some of very young guys who have joined DOGE to steal our private information and take away benefits we are entitled to. Here are three that got my attention:
Edward Coristine–is a 19 yr old high school grad. Musk likes them young because they are expected to work 120 hours a week and sleep on the floor. Coristine’s online moniker is “Big Balls”. He had a brief contract working for an out fit called Path Network. He was fired from PN for giving their proprietary info to a competitor. Definitely not a guy I would want to get hold of my private and sensitive information stored in the Treasury Department’s data base.
Marko Elez–a 25 yr old who was also given clearance by Musk to rummage through the Treasury data base. On Thursday Elez was forced to resign from DOGE because of his racist posts. In one post Elez said “For the record I was prejudiced before it became mainstream”. Then on Friday Elon reinstated Elez to his former position at DOGE saying “To err is human, to forgive is divine”. Sorry, I don’t think an open racist deserves to be forgiven.
Gavin Kliger–25 years old and a DOGE staffer. He was caught reposting white supremacist stuff by Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate. Tate is under investigation in Romania for trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
So there you have it. Three young men Musk hires for DOGE. Fascists one and all. They say you are judged by the people with whom you associate. I am sure Elon and he 3 recruits practice their favorite Nazi salute before going to bed!
More stopid floyd.
Booooooo hoooooooo
Dennis McIntyre had been under investigation in Ohio for his role in a child pornography ring for 2 years.
“steal our private information and take away benefits we are entitled to.”
Which of your private information was stolen and which of your benefits was taken?
Why are you a cock sucking liar?
This is awesome to watch! Elon Musk can build rockets but the big defense contractors cannot. currently build a reliable space ship? What is wrong with this picture? A small team of kids can outwit an army of lawyers, woke psychology and women’s studies graduates? Dennis, do you need to look for some different sources of information? Are you a recipient of fraudulent USAid?
World War II was won by a bunch of motivated (think on your feet) teens and young twenties youth who had a can do attitude and an incredible work ethic. My father, my three uncles and my aunt were all in combat during that conflict in the ETO and PTO. My aunt was an Army field nurse. My late father-in-law was an infantryman who was D+1 to Czechoslovakia in intensive combat from day 1 to the end. Of these there were 4 Purple Hearts and one was a POW. They were practically kids. Look what they did!
Who would be against putting a stop to fraud? The funds saved from the gross and criminal mismanagement of our taxpayer dollars can be spent on actually improving this country and turning our dismal decline.
Dennis – you do understand that your nose is so long that condors nest in it ?
Musk’s “employees” all have a higher IQ than the combined IW of all the left wing nuts on this board.
These are all incredible smart people – whose CV’s have more substance at their young age than YOUR does after a lifetime.
You want to rant crazy left wing made up nonses abnout their morality – USAID ignored Trump’s EO to pause spending.
Further they were funding terrorist organizations.
They were funding Al Queda.
They were funding US and EU media – which they then used to leak bogus stories to undermine Trump in 2017.
“Sorry, I don’t think an open racist deserves to be forgiven.”
To bad for you – then I guess you can never be forgiven.
Regardless prejudice is not racist.
And someone who posts the stupid stuff you do should be rushing to forgive others.
You don’t matter anymore.
Nor is anyone interensted in your lies, or twisted guilt by association – often guilt by association with others who you have tarred by guilt by association.
“So there you have it.”
An absloubtely nuts post by Dennis that jumps to conclusions based on evidence that you do not cite,
And you can not even keep your own logic straight.
Predjudice is not the same as racist, is not the same as white supremecist, is not the same as fascist.
One way that you can tell is that we have four different words.
“They say you are judged by the people with whom you associate.”
That is what they said about christ.
You know the part about hanging arround with tax collectors and prostitutes.
Dennis – it is clear that you are terrified by What DOGE is finding.
The democratic Party is rife with people who are far worse than you are accusing these – brilliant young adults who
are smarter and more accomplished than you will ever be.
As Lincoln said of Grant when nut jobs like you complained that he as a drunk.
“I can not spare the man – he fights”
While your attacks on Musk and DOGE are laughable – I do not care if Musk ACTUALLY hired David Dukes.
I care that he is finding massive waste and corruption in federal govenrment spending.
And that Trump is stopping it.
Whether you like it or not – we have a massive spending problem.
Interest on the national debt is almost as large as the defense budget.
We are very close to the point of no return – the point at which debt is so high and interest on the debt is so high that it starts growing exponentially
Interest on the national debt was 1/6th what it currently is – in 2017.
Everytime the interest increases – borrowing must increase.
More of denny on lsd.
Remember this case from nearly 30 years ago?
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/n-j-district-settles-case-on-race-bias/1997/11
The HW Bush administration was on the side of the white employee who was let go by her school district solely due to her race. Then in early 1993 the Clinton administration came to power and actually switched sides (which raised conflict of interest problems). Then they and race groups, afraid of a Supreme Court ruling against the school district, ponied up lots of money to settle with the employee so the case would go away.
That was legal, but wrong, in my view. The court precedent belongs to the public, not just the parties. For that reason I agree with the current solicitor general’s position that the Supreme Court should rule definitively on the issue.
More to the point, why don’t you cite the Constitution for any legal basis for affirmative action, quotas, cash assistance (i.e. welfare), WIC, SNAP, TANF, wage/price/rent control, dominion over private property, “non-discrimination” laws, “fair housing” laws, forced busing, public housing, compulsory “public” school, or any other form of individual welfare, specific welfare, particular welfare, bias, favor, or charity? While you’re at it, find a legal basis for “partial” judges at any level.
Of course, you cannot.
I think you meant that reply for someone else. Or what do you think I said?