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The Trump administration has ended taxpayer funding for gender-transition surgeries and cross-sex hormone treatments for transgender inmates in federal prisons.
The policy change, issued Feb. 19 by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, is expected to save taxpayers nearly $2 million, according to figures shared by the Department of Justice.
The updated guidance, titled “Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria,” reverses directives implemented during the administration of Joe Biden that required prisons to provide hormone therapy and certain surgical procedures for inmates who identify as transgender.
Justice Department officials told the Washington Examiner that the prior policy cost the Bureau of Prisons about $1.65 million. Approximately $1.25 million went toward hormone-replacement therapy, including estrogen injections and testosterone suppressants for inmates in prisons, halfway houses or home confinement. Two surgeries performed under the previous rules cost roughly $400,000 combined.
Under the new policy, prison medical staff will instead focus on therapy, antidepressants and treatment of related mental health conditions.
Officials said inmates currently receiving hormone therapy may be placed on medically supervised taper plans to gradually reduce dosages.
“The new policy will result in almost $2 million not being spent on otherwise harmful treatment that also results in safety concerns at BOP facilities,” a Justice Department official told the Examiner.
The guidance also ends taxpayer-funded “social transitioning” accommodations such as wigs, breast padding, makeup and other gender-related items previously provided to inmates. Those products may still be purchased through prison commissaries but will no longer be issued at government expense.
The change follows earlier directives from the Trump administration stating that federal funds should not be used to alter a prisoner’s outward appearance to match a preferred gender identity.
Justice Department officials say the shift is intended to redirect resources toward medically necessary care for the broader prison population while positioning federal policy with biological standards in government programs.