
Obama’s Transgender Directive Will Not be Defended by Trump’s DOJ
In all likelihood, President Obama’s directive to public schools regarding transgender students will be allowed to die a quiet death by the new administration. The cause of much controversy when it was released last May, the directive instructed public school officials in all states to let transgender students use the bathroom and locker facilities that conform with their gender identity – not with their birth sex. The ruling was put on hold by the courts, however, and schools are now waiting to see what the ultimate verdict will be.
If we take an optimistic look at the Trump administration’s latest legal moves, however, we can predict that we may avoid a verdict altogether. On Friday, the Justice Department – now under the management of one Mr. Jeff Sessions – filed a motion in federal court that hints at the strong possibility that the administration will let this one go. In it, the DOJ asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for a delay on a forthcoming hearing in which the government would have argued against a preliminary injunction imposed on the directive.
Now, it could be that Sessions’ DOJ lawyers simply need more time to form an argument for the transgender executive order, but that doesn’t seem likely given what we know about the new AG’s political ideology. Does Jeff Sessions strike you as the kind of guy who is raring to go to bat for Obama in this way? Does he seem like a man who wants boys in the girls’ restroom? Not hardly.
No, it’s not up to Sessions to pick and choose the government’s position based on his own political beliefs – at least, not in all cases. Perhaps not even in most. His job is to enforce the law. But when it comes to something like this – something that was created purely out of far-left political motivations – then some ideological sanity is exactly what we need. It’s exactly why Sessions was such a perfect choice for the position. Especially after the twin terrors that were Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.
The Supreme Court is getting ready to hear a case about a transgender student who is fighting for “his” right to use the boys’ facilities. Should the court decide this as wrongly as they decided gay marriage, the directive will become redundant. If they rule in favor of common sense and biology, the directive will violate the law. Therefore, a complete withdrawal only makes sense.
An executive branch doing things that make sense? How odd!