DALLAS: President Donald Trump’s administration is stepping back from a request made by former President Barack Obama’s administration in an ongoing lawsuit over bathroom rights for transgender students in public schools.
In a filing Friday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal government asked to withdraw a motion filed last year that asked a judge to scale back a temporary injunction blocking Obama’s guidance on the issue.
The Department of Justice’s filing, which came a day after Jeff Sessions was sworn in as Trump’s attorney general, said the parties were “currently considering how best to proceed in this appeal.”
Texas and 12 other states filed the lawsuit last year challenging the former president’s guidance, which directed public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the directive nationwide in August. The Obama administration later requested that the hold only apply to the 13 suing states while it appealed the ruling. A hearing on the request was set for Tuesday, but the Friday court filing asked that the hearing be canceled.
Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said Saturday that the agency declined to comment beyond the filing.
Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, said they were “incredibly disappointed” by the filing on Friday.
“Our concern is that it’s a very clear signal that at a minimum the Department of Justice — and possibly more broadly throughout the Trump administration — will not protect transgender students,” she said.