Royce C. Lamberth

Rule Changes

Issued the preliminary injunction blocking the BOP policy

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to let the Trump administration enforce new restrictions on medical care for transgender federal inmates. The 7-2 order leaves a lower-court block in place, so the roughly 1,000 people covered by a class action can keep receiving hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care while the case continues.

Updated Oct 22

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Presiding over Widakuswara v. Lake; issued reinstatement order

Voice of America broadcast continuously for more than 80 years through the Cold War, the Berlin Wall's fall, and two Iraq wars. In March 2025, the Trump administration placed virtually its entire workforce on leave, froze its website, and defunded every U.S.-backed international broadcaster, shutting down VOA for the first time in its history. One year later, Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ordered 1,042 employees reinstated and broadcasting restored by March 23. He ruled that the administration had "provided nothing approaching a principled basis" for the shutdown and that the official who carried it out, Kari Lake, was never lawfully appointed.

Updated May 30