A Trump-Aligned Group Uncovers Lack of Evidence Supporting Dem States' Lawsuits Against Trans Surgery Ban on Minors
In response to a lawsuit filed by 15 states, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, seeking to overturn President Trump's executive order banning sex-change surgeries for minors under the age of 19, America First Legal (AFL) has initiated a series of records requests in an effort to determine if the claims made in the lawsuit are truthful. The group, which is aligned with Trump's administration, sought any documents that show concrete evidence of harm or injury caused by the executive order.
The records requests were sent to 15 states, including Massachusetts, Illinois, and Nevada, as well as Washington D.C. However, so far, only three states have provided responses. The responses from these states indicated that there were no responsive records related to AFL's requests, despite the group asking for specific documents pertaining to the lawsuit's allegations.
Dan Epstein, Vice President of America First Legal, stated that "states suing the Trump administration appear to lack evidence of actual harm supporting their allegations." He emphasized that protecting minors from permanent physical damage was a concern addressed by the executive order and that politics should not dictate medical decisions.
The AFL records requests also sought documents showing whether states had experienced harm or injury as a result of the ban, including evidence of prosecutions, clinic closures, reduced services, increased medical or mental-health crises for transgender adolescents, and worsening health outcomes. Massachusetts and Nevada reported having zero responsive records, while Illinois provided some responses that included notices to grantees about potential new costs associated with the executive order.
The group also expressed skepticism regarding the lawsuit's claims, stating that they have previously exposed other states' lack of standing in their respective cases against the Trump administration. America First Legal plans to continue exposing baseless litigation efforts aimed at undermining the "America First" agenda.
In a separate development, the Health and Human Services Department is also facing a lawsuit challenging Trump's Executive Order 14187 for alleged discrimination.
In response to a lawsuit filed by 15 states, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, seeking to overturn President Trump's executive order banning sex-change surgeries for minors under the age of 19, America First Legal (AFL) has initiated a series of records requests in an effort to determine if the claims made in the lawsuit are truthful. The group, which is aligned with Trump's administration, sought any documents that show concrete evidence of harm or injury caused by the executive order.
The records requests were sent to 15 states, including Massachusetts, Illinois, and Nevada, as well as Washington D.C. However, so far, only three states have provided responses. The responses from these states indicated that there were no responsive records related to AFL's requests, despite the group asking for specific documents pertaining to the lawsuit's allegations.
Dan Epstein, Vice President of America First Legal, stated that "states suing the Trump administration appear to lack evidence of actual harm supporting their allegations." He emphasized that protecting minors from permanent physical damage was a concern addressed by the executive order and that politics should not dictate medical decisions.
The AFL records requests also sought documents showing whether states had experienced harm or injury as a result of the ban, including evidence of prosecutions, clinic closures, reduced services, increased medical or mental-health crises for transgender adolescents, and worsening health outcomes. Massachusetts and Nevada reported having zero responsive records, while Illinois provided some responses that included notices to grantees about potential new costs associated with the executive order.
The group also expressed skepticism regarding the lawsuit's claims, stating that they have previously exposed other states' lack of standing in their respective cases against the Trump administration. America First Legal plans to continue exposing baseless litigation efforts aimed at undermining the "America First" agenda.
In a separate development, the Health and Human Services Department is also facing a lawsuit challenging Trump's Executive Order 14187 for alleged discrimination.
Like, if they don't have any solid evidence of harm or injury, why bother? It just seems like another way to delay and drag out the process. And can we talk about how some states didn't even bother to respond to their requests? Massachusetts and Nevada are basically just "we're good" 
I'm low-key surprised that more states aren't just like, "hey, we don't have any evidence" 
. The stats are pretty clear: since the executive order went into effect, there hasn't been a spike in reported harm or injury to minors undergoing trans surgery. In fact, a 2022 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that there's no significant difference in mental health outcomes between trans and cisgender teens 
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. Meanwhile, other medical procedures for minors (like appendectomies) have a much higher risk of complications 
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. Anyway, I guess we'll just keep waiting for more data to come in before we can say for sure what's going on 
. Like, isn't the goal of a lawsuit to show that you're right and the other side is wrong? But here we go, and America First Legal is trying to find out if there's any evidence to support these claims 
. And honestly, I think Dan Epstein is spot on when he says that politics shouldn't dictate medical decisions 
. If the states can't show that this policy is causing harm, then maybe they should rethink their stance 
. It's all about finding a balance between protecting people and giving them choices 
. Can we keep it civil? 
u mean come on ppl if ur so concerned about these kids' well-being, why not provide some actual evidence instead of playing politics with their bodies? 
. The fact that only three states provided responses is pretty telling - maybe they know there's no real harm or injury coming from the ban 
. Can we just focus on what really matters here?
. Let's just take a deep breath, calm down, and look at the actual evidence before jumping to conclusions.
. The group America First Legal has been digging into the records and it looks like most of these states don't have any evidence to back up their claims 
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, yet they don't have any evidence to show it's happening 
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. I've got sources that tell me they're not afraid of being called out, and they're willing to take on the big boys if it means exposing the truth 
. It's like the truth is finally coming out, and we're gonna see which states are really behind this 
and I stumbled upon this one pic of me trying to make a weird cake for my cousin's birthday... it ended up being a total disaster, but it was so funny! 
Anyway, back to this news thing... I'm kinda surprised that these states are suing just because they don't like Trump's executive order. Like, isn't the whole point of being in politics to make decisions that benefit everyone? Not just some group of people who agree with you? 
. I mean, what's next? Lawsuits for wearing hoodies in public? 
meanwhile, the AFL is all about exposing baseless litigation efforts 
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, but we'll just have to wait and see! 
. And can you believe AFL is behind this? America First, huh? More like America No-Evidence-Required 
. This whole thing just smells like a bunch of hooey... or should I say, a bunch of 'fake news' 
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. I get it, maybe there isn't any concrete evidence, but don't we need some kind of acknowledgment at least? 
. I mean, they're still pushing his agenda and trying to undermine the progress made by people who actually care about these kids' well-being. It's like, what's the real motive here?