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| The rainbow flag, a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, was first created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. Baker, at the request of Harvey Milk, designed the flag to represent the diverse LGBTQ+ community |
WASHINGTON D.C., June 9, 2025 --The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued “nearly 20 subpoenas” to clinics that provide gender-affirming care in relation to “transition-related investigations,” stated chief of staff Chad Mizelle at an event held by the Federal Trade Commission today. The department has also issued subpoenas to major manufacturers of “the drugs used in trans-related medical interventions” in relation to investigations around drug marketing laws and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Mizelle added.
The announcement is the latest Trump administration move to target providers of gender-affirming care. In June, the FBI requested tips from the public on clinics that provide this care, and in May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent letters to nine hospitals requesting information about their protocols. The actions follow the executive order President Trump issued one week into his presidency that directed the withholding of federal funds from any hospital that provides gender-affirming care to people under age 19.Mizelle urged Americans to come forward if they could provide information about deceptive practices in the transgender medicine industry, saying Wednesday: “If you are someone who has been harmed please come forward and let us know.”
Immediately after his announcement, Mizelle introduced a panel of detransitioner survivors and parents, including Prisha Mosley, Soren Aldaco, Beth Bourne, Forrest Smith, Helen Spiegel Lee, and Gwen Turecki, individuals who emotionally shared their experiences as they navigated gender transition attempts or helped — or lost — a family member who attempted to transition.
The workshop demonstrates the FTC’s interest in combatting the transgender medicine industry, following the directives of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on protecting children from transgender procedures and combatting radical ideology.
During Wednesday’s event, speakers such as doctors, medical ethicists, whistleblowers, detransitioners, and parents of survivors focused on the deceptive practices often found within the transgender medicine industry. One mother, Elvira Syed, broke down sobbing as she described how her daughter ultimately committed suicide.
“I lost my 18-year-old daughter,” she sobs. “To gender ideology, ” adding “We need to make sure no more kids are sold a product they cannot return.”
The FTC notes, in a description of the event, that “Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act gives the FTC broad authority to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices.”
“This authority could be implicated if there is evidence that medical professionals or others omitted warnings about the risks or made false or unsupported claims about the benefits and effectiveness of gender-affirming care for minors,” the description notes. “The workshop will help the FTC to understand whether consumers are being or have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about ‘gender-affirming care’ and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing.”