President Donald Trump continues to face pushback from federal judges.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson paused Trump’s order on gender-related medical procedures for minors, which aimed to reduce access to such procedures through funding restrictions.
Hurson granted a temporary restraining order that applies nationwide.
Executive order on transgender minors
Trump signed the executive order on transgender minors on Jan. 28.
It directs health insurance programs run by the federal government to stop covering transition-related treatments, and warns medical schools and hospitals that they could lose access to federal funding if they continue providing such treatments to children and teens under age 19.
“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order said.
In early February, families with transgender members and LGBTQ advocacy groups sued to block the executive order.
They argued that it would harm young people seeking the challenged treatment and promote sex discrimination.
Officials in the Trump administration defended the order in court filings and public statements, arguing that the president has legal authority to craft funding restrictions that match his policy goals and noting that around half of U.S. states already restrict medical treatment for transgender minors, according to The Washington Post.
During a hearing earlier this month, judge Hurson appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs' claim that young people would be harmed if the order stayed in place.
“This is a population with an extremely higher rate for suicide, poverty, unemployment, drug addiction,” he said, per the Post. He added that abruptly stopping treatments would be “horribly dangerous for anyone, for any care, but particularly for this extremely vulnerable population.”
Trump executive orders on hold
Thursday’s ruling is the latest in a series of rulings against the Trump administration.
In recent days, judges have also put executive orders on birthright citizenship, federal spending, buyouts for federal workers and other issues on hold.
The block on the executive order on transgender minors, like those previous rulings, is temporary, meaning that the restraining order could be overturned on a direct appeal or when the case is fully briefed and argued.