Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged hospitals to maintain privacy protections for LGBTQ+ patients and fight back against bad-faith overreach in light of Donald Trump aggressively attacking the transgender community since day one of his second term.
From eliminating “gender ideology” materials across government agencies to slashing funds for LGBTQ+ youth mental health services, Wyden underscored the Trump administration’s numerous attacks on the transgender community in a letter to a representative sample of hospitals across the nation. Most recently, Trump weaponized the Department of Justice (DOJ) by subpoenaing personally identifiable information for minors receiving medical care, among other records, from more than a dozen hospitals, clinics, and manufacturers that offered gender-affirming care.
In the letter, Wyden emphasized, “These investigations play a central role in the Trump administration’s all political persecution of transgender people, and they seek to intimidate providers, including hospitals like your own, and frighten patients. This pattern is not new.”
A 2024 Senate Finance Committee Majority Staff Report found that state-level politicians in at least four states demanded the medical and billing records of transgender youth and adults from hospitals. DOJ’s recent subpoenas act as a continuation of these intimidation tactics.
Wyden continued, “In the face of fear and political pressure, your courage and professionalism represent the best of our nation’s health care system. I urge you to continue resisting meritless partisan attacks disguised as legitimate investigations. The stakes are high, but your commitment protects the rights and privacy of vulnerable patients.”
Wyden has served as a leader in the Senate on protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ communities in Oregon and across America. In July 2025, Wyden uncovered LGBTQ+ youth harm and discrimination in residential treatment facilities.
A copy of the letter is here.
A web version of this release is here.
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