NEW YORK (AP) — A judge temporarily blocked federal prosecutors in Texas from getting access to the medical records of transgender patients treated at New York hospitals on Wednesday, saying they were part of an improper government effort to “demonize and eradicate an entire population of transgender” people.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled a day after hearing oral arguments in Manhattan, calling the government's pursuit of the most sensitive medical records of a “uniquely vulnerable group” of patients treated over a six-year period to be “most egregious” and unconstitutional.
Failla accused the Justice Department of turning to criminal probes as a way to obtain otherwise private records about those undergoing transgender care after judges across the country repeatedly rejected similar requests through civil means.
The Justice Department had sought the records as part of a probe of potential “misbranding” of drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Justice Department declined comment after Failla's ruling, which concluded that the subpoenas violated Constitutional protections against government overreach in criminal probes and against improper searches and seizures.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, called the ruling “a victory for the basic privacy of our clients and all families like theirs across New York City.” He added in a statement that using subpoenas to attain the identities and sensitive health information of transgender young people “should send chills down the spine of every American.”
Failla ruled in a lawsuit filed this month on behalf of minors, their parents and young adults who received medically necessary gender-affirming care in New York City.
According to the lawsuit, NYU Langone Hospitals was one of several institutions to receive a federal grand jury subpoena on May 7 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. The records of transgender patients were to be sent electronically to a special agent of the FDA's Kansas City office of criminal investigation.
Failla said there were at least 40 individuals who received treatment at NYU Langone alone during the Jan. 1, 2020 to May 5, 2026 period covered by the subpoenas.
At a Tuesday hearing, Failla was critical of the federal government, saying executive orders addressing transgender issues contained “language some people might consider inflammatory.”
She said it seemed from an “atmospheric perspective” that the government was “rounding up” vulnerable individuals by finding out the most personal information about them and then “giving them no comfort they're not going to be ostracized or even harmed.”
“There are episodes of this in our history and they are not nice episodes,” Failla said. “Some may see it as a rounding up of people for all bad purposes.”
Most major medical groups say access to gender-affirming care is important for people with gender dysphoria. Transgender teens, parents and providers have described it as life-saving for children who are depressed or suicidal because their gender identities do not match the gender assigned them at birth.
Gender-affirming care can include counseling, medications that block puberty, hormone therapy to produce physical changes or surgeries, although those are rare for minors.
Twenty-seven states have limited or banned gender-affirming care for minors, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2025 that they could do so under the U.S. Constitution.
President Donald Trump has aggressively sought to roll back transgender rights. During his second term, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has moved to use its regulatory power to block gender-affirming care for minors, and the DOJ has demanded access to providers’ private records, putting pressure on hospitals that often rely on federal funding to operate.
At the outset of reading a lengthy ruling to the parties participating in an electronic proceeding, Failla noted that the “current administration” had issued orders in the first few days of its existence in which it “sought to demonize and eradicate an entire population of transgender individuals.”
Before finishing an hour later, Failla had granted class-action status to the plaintiffs and ruled that the Justice Department had violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution. She set a July 8 hearing to hear additional evidence before deciding whether to impose a preliminary injunction, the next step in the legal process after Wednesday's temporary restraining order.
Associated Press Writer Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — When Varun Venkatesh cast his ballot in New York’s primary this week, he thought about “a good litmus test for me as a voter.” He wanted to know what the candidates are doing for the Palestinian cause.
The 27-year-old Brooklyn resident decided to support Claire Valdez, who was backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over Antonio Reynoso, another progressive who was the choice of the Democratic establishment, because she had “a clear and more consistent stance.”
Valdez triumphed in her congressional primary, as did two other insurgent candidates endorsed by Mamdani, and Israel was a key issue in each of the races. Now the question for Democrats is how many more voters like Venkatesh are out there as the party charts its path toward the November midterms and the next presidential election.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which responded with a yearslong counterattack that left more than 73,000 dead. About 1,000 have died since a ceasefire was reached in October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry that does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.
Human rights groups and a United Nations commission have described Israel's actions as a genocide, a charge that's been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Democrats on the left — and even some conservatives — have ratcheted up pressure to suspend U.S. aid to Israel, a shift that's been shadowed by a rise in antisemitism across the political spectrum.
“The Israel question has become defining,” said Matt Bennett, who leads the centrist Democratic group Third Way and frequently criticizes progressives as jeopardizing outreach to independent voters. He argued that some in Mamdani’s camp have embraced “a new level of extremism,” warning that “Republicans are very good at weaponizing crazy ideas on the fringe against mainstream candidates.”
The schism over Israel, which widened during Joe Biden's presidency and undermined Kamala Harris' bid to replace him, remains an open wound. How Democrats attempt to stitch it closed will help define their future. A step in any direction risks alienating pieces of the party's unwieldy coalition when it's trying to unify around the mission of retaking control of Congress and set the stage for winning the White House again.
Mamdani is unapologetic in his effort to reshape the Democratic Party from the mayor’s office of the country’s largest city. He sharply criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for defending what he calls “a status quo of immorality” in Gaza, and voters who celebrated his slate's victories on Tuesday night chanted “Free Palestine.”
The mayor, meanwhile, argues that New York should shape Democrats’ search for their national identity in the coming years.
“When does the race for 2028 begin?” Mamdani asked last week on a stage with his slate of candidates. “It starts now.”
Even for a party accustomed to conflicts between progressives and moderates, the divide over Israel has been especially intense. Although the U.S. alliance with Israel once had bipartisan support, the ascendancy of Israel's right wing, led by Netanyahu, strained those ties over the years. Then the war in Gaza shredded them.
Biden was denounced as “Genocide Joe” by pro-Palestinian supporters, who shifted their attention to Harris once she replaced him as the Democratic nominee for president two years ago.
“She was trying to do the right thing," said Jamie Harrison, who led the Democratic National Committee at the time. "It was a hard and awkward place to be in.”
Harrison said the war in Gaza helped cost Harris the state of Michigan, which has a sizable Arab American population. However, he doubts that it was a defining national issue then or now.
“It’s one thing to be in New York. But I can tell you that most places, including where I am in South Carolina, it’s not what people are talking about,” he said. “They are concerned about affording gas and groceries and housing.”
Harrison expects Democrats to look for middle ground in the future, which includes “still supporting Israel’s sovereignty” while calling for “reducing U.S. aid to Israel and changing the nature of the relationship.”
The issue puts a notable spotlight on Jewish Democrats who could become presidential contenders at the same time Mamdani wields his influence as the most prominent elected Muslim in U.S. politics.
When Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s name landed on Harris’ list of potential running mates, activists on the left cried foul over his support for Israel — potentially previewing pressures he would experience in a White House campaign.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was once a billionaire donor to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, and a national board member. He cut ties with the group after it aligned with Donald Trump, but the governor has continued to face questions about his past support.
Both Shapiro and Pritzker are seeking reelection this November before deciding on White House bids.
Finding middle ground has been difficult so far, as demonstrated by the primary in New York's 10th congressional district.
Brad Lander, the former city comptroller backed by Mamdani, successfully challenged U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman in the race.
Both candidates are Jewish, and both have criticized the Israeli government. But Lander says the war in Gaza is a genocide, and Goldman does not.
“Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden’s ‘hug Bibi’ strategy was a catastrophic mistake," Lander said in his primary victory speech. He added, “We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu’s wars with our tax dollars. Democratic voters are saying this, loud and clear.”
Ari Rassouli, a voter in the district, said the incumbent's views on Israel were “one of the many reasons that I didn’t like Dan Goldman.”
Describing the war as a genocide, she said “a candidate that is in support of that has no place in our democracy at all.”
While talking to reporters on Tuesday, Lander acknowledged that Israel was among the top issues along with affordability and immigration.
“I like talking to Jewish voters who feel anxiety about the times we live in and say, ‘I have these values, I want to treat everyone like they’re equal and with dignity and created in God’s image. How do we navigate the times we’re in?’” he said.
Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.
Democratic congressional candidate Claire Valdez speaks during a Get Out The Vote rally ahead of New York's primary election, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, celebrates with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier during an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
