President Donald Trump's sweeping assertions of executive power during his first weeks back in office appear headed toward U.S. Supreme Court showdowns, but it remains an open question whether or how much the justices might act to check his authority.

While it was once rare for an administration to change its position in cases before the high court, Trump did so in his first term and has signaled he will do it again.

An administration lawyer said a Tennessee law barring some medical treatments for transgender youths is constitutional and urged the justices to say so.

President Donald Trump's administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that Tennessee's Republican-backed ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors is not unlawful, reversing the position taken by the government under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

President Trump’s Justice Department on Friday abandoned the Biden administration’s Supreme Court challenge to gender-affirming care bans for minors, but the new administration urged the justices

The Supreme Court also refused to pause briefing in a consolidated case involving appeals of two lower court decisions, Oklahoma v. EPA and PacifiCorp v. EPA. Both cases center on EPA’s denial of 21 state implementation plans for slashing ozone pollution that crossed state lines.

The Justice Department's new position was expected because President Trump had made opposition to transgender rights a central campaign theme.

The federal government no longer backs transgender minors and their families in Tennessee who are challenging a state ban on gender-affirming care, the Trump administration told the Supreme Court Friday.