Adds DOJ/Shumate statement

By Daniel Wiessner

May 1 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas has ordered a Rhode Island hospital to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena seeking records on gender-affirming care provided to minors, the latest escalation in efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to curb the procedures.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, made the decision late Thursday within hours of the Justice Department filing a petition to enforce the July 2025 subpoena against Rhode Island Hospital. His order was posted on the court docket on Friday.

It is highly unusual for a judge to order compliance with a subpoena on the same day a petition is filed, and without allowing the recipient to respond.

The subpoena is among more than 20 that the Justice Department has said it issued to healthcare providers nationwide involved in providing gender-affirming care to minors. At least seven judges have ruled in favor of providers who challenged individual subpoenas, but Rhode Island Hospital's case is the first in which the department has gone to court to enforce one.

The subpoena includes 15 demands for information covering personnel and corporate oversight, billing, coding, reimbursement and clinical practices, and the hospital's relationships with drug manufacturers and distributors.

Rhode Island Hospital is part of the nonprofit Brown University Health system. A spokesperson for Brown University declined to comment on the details of the case. The hospital is affiliated with Brown University and is the school's main teaching hospital.

“We recently became aware of the motion filed by the Department of Justice and are currently reviewing it carefully with counsel," the spokesperson said.

Brett Shumate, the head of DOJ's civil division, in a statement said: “The Department of Justice expects and demands full compliance with validly issued subpoenas like the one at issue here. Non-compliance with lawful process is never an option.”

O'Connor, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, did not explain the speed with which he made the decision.

In a two-page order, the judge said the subpoena was within DOJ's authority and seeks documents reasonably relevant to the department's investigation. He said Rhode Island Hospital "has neither filed a motion to quash nor shown just cause for noncompliance."

O'Connor, a staunch conservative, is the only judge in Fort Worth federal court. That makes it a favored destination for conservative groups and the Trump administration.

The Justice Department in Thursday's petition said its investigations into providers nationwide are "being carried out in the Northern District of Texas," but otherwise did not connect the subpoena to Texas. Federal civil procedure rules state that subpoena enforcement actions must be brought in "the district where compliance is required."

The subpoena was signed by Shumate, who is based in the District of Columbia, and refers to three other Washington-based department lawyers, including one who served the subpoena on the hospital and another who signed the court petition filed on Thursday.

Trump last year signed an executive order ending all federal funding or support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The order described gender-affirming care as a "dangerous trend" and a form of "chemical and surgical mutilation," and it directed the Justice Department to prioritize investigations concerning such treatments.

LGBTQ groups and advocates for gender-affirming care for minors say the treatments, such as hormone therapy, are medically necessary and safe.

The case is In Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 4:26-mc-00006.

For DOJ: Patrick Runkle and Ethan Womble of the U.S. Department of Justice

For Rhode Island Hospital: Not available

Read more:

DOJ subpoenaed hospital to end gender-affirming care through 'fear,' judge says

DOJ withdraws demand for Los Angeles hospital to turn over transgender minors' records

Judge rejects DOJ's subpoena to Children's Hospital Colorado over transgender care

Judge blocks Justice Department's transgender care subpoena to Boston Children's Hospital