Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of state attorneys general supporting the Trump administration’s proposal to revoke a regulation from the Biden era that linked federal disability funding to payments for sex-change procedures. The coalition submitted a formal comment letter endorsing the proposed revocation.
Attorney General Marshall previously challenged the Biden administration’s rule in court through a multistate lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra. Following President Trump’s move to reverse the policy, Alabama dismissed its claims in that case.
The 2024 regulation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Biden expanded the definition of “disability” under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to include “gender dysphoria.” This would have required states accepting federal funding to pay for sex-change procedures for transgender individuals.
Marshall, along with other state attorneys general, argued that Congress had excluded payments for “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments.” He stated that this rule violated the Rehabilitation Act and could divert resources away from people with physical disabilities while impacting services in states opposed to these requirements.
The Trump administration has now issued a proposal to rescind this rule, aiming to remove requirements that states pay for sex-change procedures.
“I applaud President Trump and his administration for working to remove woke ideology from HHS regulations,” stated Attorney General Marshall. “The Biden administration’s attempt to requires states to pay for sex-change procedures or risk losing federal funding was unlawful and would have hurt the very individuals Congress sought to help when it enacted the Rehabilitation Act. I am glad our work challenging the prior administration’s power grab has yielded such important fruit.”
The comment letter was led by Texas Attorney General and included Marshall as well as attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.
The Alabama Attorney General serves as the state’s chief law enforcement official within the executive branch and represents Alabama in legal matters across all counties. The office collaborates with law enforcement agencies and multistate coalitions on various issues including consumer protection and reducing violent crime. Steve Marshall has served as Alabama’s forty-eighth attorney general since February 2017. More information about his role can be found at https://www.alabamaag.gov.