The Supreme Court said no to the prison hormone ban, but an agency just wrote trans people out of disability law. Here's my week.
Election week had a lot of noise in it. Underneath the noise, the agencies kept working, and the courts kept getting asked to catch what the agencies dropped. This week the Supreme Court turned down one attack on trans people in federal prison. In the same days, a federal rule that carves trans people out of disability law made it into the Federal Register.
I read the coverage so you don't have to read all of it. Here are seven stories, sorted into LGBTQ, Disability, and Where They Overlap, with my take on each one.
PART ONE: THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
1. The Supreme Court won't let the prison hormone ban start yet
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Supreme Court refused to let the administration immediately enforce new medical restrictions for transgender people in federal prison. The policy would halt surgeries, taper off hormones and end accommodations like makeup and wigs. Justices Alito and Thomas would have let it take effect. About 600 inmates were receiving hormone therapy in 2025, according to the Bureau of Prisons' own court records, and AP reports the government hasn't detailed evidence of security problems linked to it over 30 years.
Source: Associated Press via EDGE Media Network, Nov. 4, 2026. https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story/171849/supreme-court-rebuffs-trump-administration-restrictions-on-medical-care-for
Mr. Wheels' response: Take the win. It's real, and about 600 people get to keep their medicine for now. But look at what the fight was over. The administration went all the way to the Supreme Court to take away treatment that doctors prescribed to people who can't walk out of the building and go see someone else. People in custody can't shop around for care, and that's exactly why they're the easiest to hurt. Anybody who has ever depended on someone else's say-so for their medication understands why this matters.
2. The Supreme Court hears the Catholic preschool case, and the administration picked a side
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the justices heard two hours of argument in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. Colorado's universal preschool program requires every participating school to give kids an equal opportunity to enroll regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Two Catholic preschools want an exemption. CBS News reports the conservative majority appeared likely to side with the preschools. The Trump administration backed the preschools, and its lawyer argued as a friend of the court. There's no ruling yet.
Source: CBS News, Nov. 3, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-st-mary-catholic-parish-v-roy-colorado-preschool/ ; Colorado Newsline via States Newsroom, Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-supreme-court-hear-arguments-latest-debate-over-lgbtq-protections-colorado
Mr. Wheels' response: Justice Kagan asked the question that sums it up: "do you have to treat them better?" The schools can take public money and teach whatever they believe. What they're asking for is a special right to turn kids away. Nobody should have a four-year-old turned away at the door because of who their parents are. If the court gives this exemption, expect other programs that take public money to line up for the same thing.
PART TWO: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
3. Four more states sue over Medicaid work requirement paperwork
On Nov. 5, Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington sued over how the administration is implementing the Medicaid work requirements passed in the 2025 budget bill. Washington's attorney general says more than 600,000 residents would have to regularly prove they're working, in school or volunteering. The state's own health authority estimates at least 20% of the affected members, about 120,000 people, may lose coverage. The requirements start in 2027.
Source: Washington State Attorney General, Nov. 5, 2026. http://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/wa-challenges-federal-medicaid-barriers-jeopardizing-washingtonians-health ; STAT, Nov. 6, 2026. https://www.statnews.com/2026/11/06/states-sue-trump-delay-medicaid-work-requirements/
Mr. Wheels' response: Last week a judge told the administration it can't make disabled people prove they're sick enough. This week the states are going after the paperwork machine itself. Here's the thing nobody says out loud: red tape works as a cut even when no one votes for a cut. People lose coverage because they miss a form, or never got a letter, or couldn't get through on the phone. A lot of us know what it's like to be told our own life isn't documented well enough.
4. Kids with autism get caught in the gap at the Education Department
KFF Health News reports on what happened after the administration closed seven of the Education Department's 12 regional civil rights offices. This June it also moved special education oversight largely to HHS and shifted the Office for Civil Rights toward the Justice Department. A Senate report in April found the office hit a 12-year low in resolving discrimination complaints, with a backlog of nearly 12,000 cases. Former OCR chief Catherine Lhamon said, "If they think that there's no one at the federal government watching them in school, we will see an increase in discrimination."
Source: KFF Health News via Disability Scoop, Nov. 3, 2026. https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2026/11/03/trump-puts-kids-with-autism-in-the-spotlight-and-cuts-agencies-built-to-protect-them/32246/
Mr. Wheels' response: Rights on paper don't do anything if nobody enforces them. IDEA is still the law. Section 504 is still the law. But when a parent files a complaint and is told it could take more than a year, the law becomes a suggestion. The story follows a mom whose 9-year-old son with autism was repeatedly pulled out of class. Kids don't get that year back. Neither do their parents.
5. Social Security is phasing out paper checks
The Social Security Administration plans to finish moving beneficiaries to electronic payments by the end of this year, citing federal law and Executive Order 14247. People without a bank account can use the Direct Express prepaid card. The agency says exceptions are for "extremely rare circumstances," and you can request a waiver through Treasury at 855-290-1545.
Source: The Dallas Morning News via Disability Scoop, Nov. 6, 2026. https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2026/11/06/social-security-is-phasing-out-paper-checks-heres-what-beneficiaries-need-to-know/32257/
Mr. Wheels' response: This one is a heads-up more than a headline. Plenty of people on SSI and SSDI already use direct deposit, and it's fine. But if you or someone you love still gets a paper check, don't wait until December to find out how to switch. Call, set it up, and make sure the bank details are right. And if switching is a real barrier for you, the waiver number above is there. Use it.
PART THREE: WHERE THEY OVERLAP
6. The HHS rule writing trans people out of disability law is now official
HHS's final rule on Section 504 was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 3 and takes effect Jan. 4, 2027. It says gender dysphoria not resulting from a physical impairment doesn't count as a disability under HHS's Section 504 regulations. The National Women's Law Center, which led a coalition of 149 organizations against it, says the rule invites grantees to discriminate and could leave people "mistreated or turned away from critical and even life-saving services," including health care, child welfare and programs for people with low incomes.
Sources: Federal Register, Nov. 3, 2026, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-11-03/html/2026-22380.htm ; National Women's Law Center, Nov. 2, 2026, https://nwlc.org/press-release/nwlc-on-trump-vance-administrations-final-hhs-rule-weakening-disability-nondiscrimination-protections-for-people-with-gender-dysphoria/
Mr. Wheels' response: Last week I called this the story of the week. Now it has a Federal Register number and a start date, so it's the law of the land unless someone beats it in court. NWLC's Ma'ayan Anafi said, "The administration is once again abusing its power to target the trans community." That's my whole take. Section 504 was won by disabled people who sat in a federal building until somebody signed it. Using it as a tool to decide who's out is a betrayal of that fight, and every disabled person should be furious about it, whether they're trans or not.
7. Federal workers ask a judge to restore gender-affirming care coverage
Five federal employees filed for a preliminary injunction against the Office of Personnel Management, which plans to end coverage in federal health plans for hormonal and surgical care for people with diagnosed gender dysphoria in 2027, even for people mid-treatment. Only counseling would be covered starting in January. The plaintiffs cite a Williams Institute estimate that between 39,400 and 57,800 transgender people are enrolled in these plans, counting employees, retirees and dependents. OPM declined to comment. The plaintiffs' earlier EEOC complaint alleged discrimination based on sex and disability.
Source: Federal News Network, Nov. 6, 2026. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/litigation/2026/11/federal-employees-seek-restoration-of-gender-affirming-care-coverage/
Mr. Wheels' response: The ban depends on a diagnosis. The people it hits are being denied care for a diagnosed condition, which is the kind of thing disability law is supposed to look at. That's why the 504 rule and this ban belong in the same story. One closes the door in the rulebook, the other closes it at the pharmacy counter. The people suing are federal workers who've done their jobs, paid into the plan, and now can't afford their own treatment out of pocket.
THIS WEEK ON MR. WHEELS
Monday's dispatch covered the Stearns ruling on "medically frail," the HHS 504 rule, and what the homeless crackdown means for disabled kids. On Election Day I wrote "Trump Is Freaking Out, and You Can Tell." Wednesday brought "We Took Back Congress. Now Comes Accountability," plus a dispatch on Dr. Oz saying CMS will appeal the frailty ruling and on SSA's disability claims backlog. Thursday's dispatch looked at why disability advocates see a fighting chance with a new Congress, and at nearly $3 billion in home care money frozen for California. Friday's dispatch followed the Florida Medicaid notice ruling and the four-state lawsuit. Friday I also wrote "I'm Getting Ready," about the violent talk I've been seeing in some conservative Facebook groups since the election. I'm still scared about January, and I'll keep watching.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT WEEK
Open Season for federal employees starts Monday, so the gender-affirming care fight is on a clock, and the judge hasn't ruled on the injunction yet. Dr. Oz says CMS will appeal the Stearns ruling, and Jan. 1 is still the start date for the Medicaid work requirements. The Supreme Court's decision in the Colorado preschool case is still ahead, and the HHS 504 rule starts Jan. 4 unless a court stops it. And if you still get a paper Social Security check, make that phone call.
Real voices. Real impact. Real change. — Mr. Wheels