U.S. Court in Maryland Blocks DOJ Subpoena of Transgender Care Records
- January 30, 2026
A federal court in Maryland agreed to block a Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoena seeking medical records from Children’s National Hospital for eight families whose members received gender-affirming care through the facility.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland found the subpoena lacked a proper investigative purpose. The government failed to provide any information, record, or evidence for investigating the hospital for any “health care offense,” the court said.
The court found “no credible connection to an investigation of any statutory violation by the Hospital.” Rather, “the Subpoena appears to have no purpose other than to intimidate and harass the Hospital and Movants, and those similarly situated,” the court said.
However, the court declined to quash the subpoena more broadly beyond the eight families that sought relief. The movants did not demonstrate standing to raise the matter for parties not before the court, the opinion said.
In June 2025, DOJ served subpoenas on more than 20 hospitals across the country citing a probe into possible unlawful off-label promotion of puberty blockers and hormones and the potential submission of false claims to federal health care programs.
At the same time, DOJ’s Civil Division issued a memorandum indicating the agency should prioritize investigations of health care providers and pharmaceutical companies to “hold accountable those who mutilate [children] under the guise of care.” The memo stated the investigations included possible violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the False Claims Act for billing the federal government for “impermissible services.”
Several courts also have quashed similar subpoenas to other pediatric hospitals and a telehealth provider.
In another case, DOJ reportedly reached a settlement with families who sued to block a subpoena for gender-affirming care records of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the agreement allows the hospital to withhold some records and redact others.
In re 2025 Subpoena to Children’s Nat’l Hosp., No. 1:25-cv-03780-JRR (D. Md. Jan. 21, 2026).