Three Democratic U.S. senators, Edward Markey, along with Jeff Merkley and Mazie Hirono, sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Federal Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall III criticizing changes tied to President Trump’s Executive Order 14168. The policy changes, introduced last year, rolled back Biden-era protections for transgender inmates. According to the senators, the new rules require prison staff to use pronouns based on what the policy calls biological sex, and it suspend gender-related accommodations and restrict access to gender-affirming care.
The senators also warned that the policies could increase mental health crises and suicide risk among incarcerated transgender people. The changes include bans on federal funding for gender-affirming treatments and restrictions on clothing, cosmetics, wigs, and other gender-affirming items. A later Bureau of Prisons directive also prohibited gender-affirming care even when privately funded.
The senators requested answers from the Bureau of Prisons, including BOP plans to monitor and assess the impacts of recent policies on gender-affirming medical and psychiatric care; The count of transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-diverse individuals transferred to a different facility since January 20, 2025, to house individuals according to their biological sex; How will the BOP protect the physical and emotional health and safety of incarcerated transgender individuals since it has stopped enforcing Prison Rape Elimination Act and more.
The senators also want to know if the BOP plans to form a specific process through which trans individuals can seek assistance or lodge complaints concerning harms they experience due to the recent BOP policies. The deadline set by the senators for BOP’s response to their questions is May 21.
