Trump administration asks Supreme Court to limit judges' power to void federal rules

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether federal judges may strike down an agency rule nationwide, a question that could reshape how regulations are challenged.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed the petition this week in Department of Health and Human Services v. Texas Medical Association, No. 26-491, according to the filing posted on the Supreme Court's website. It asks whether the Administrative Procedure Act lets courts universally vacate rules found unlawful, and if so, when.

The underlying case

The dispute involves rules carrying out the No Surprises Act, a law meant to shield patients from unexpected out-of-network bills. The challengers include the Texas Medical Association, a hospital and air ambulance companies.

SCOTUSblog reported this path through the courts:

• A federal district court in Texas sided with the challengers.
• A Fifth Circuit panel partly reversed that ruling.
• The full Fifth Circuit, in an Aug. 11 decision, vacated some of the provisions.

The government's argument

Sauer relies on the court's 2025 ruling in Trump v. CASA, which curbed universal injunctions, SCOTUSblog reported. He argues the same reasoning should apply to vacating rules, and that the practice encourages forum shopping and floods courts with emergency litigation.

The Fifth Circuit had rejected the government's warning that vacatur would cause practical problems, such as gaps in patient protections while rules are rewritten.

The challengers' response is due Nov. 13, though that could be extended, according to SCOTUSblog. The justices have not said whether they will hear the case.