WASHINGTON — A judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s rules ensuring transgender people at schools and workplaces have access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams, the latest setback for LGBTQ Americans amid a backlash from Republican-led states.
Mandates issued last year following an executive order by President Joe Biden clash with state laws restricting such access for transgender students and employees, U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley ruled Friday evening. The decision blocks the rules nationwide until the case is resolved.
Atchley, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said a nationwide injunction against rules issued by the Education Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was warranted because of the “extraordinary circumstances” of the lawsuit.
