States To End Lawsuit Against Feds After Justice Department Withdraws Pro-Transgender Student Policy

The Justice Department announced it is ending an appeal in the trans rights case, which it says will then lead to the states withdrawing their lawsuit against the federal government.

WASHINGTON — The several states, led by Texas, who have been suing the federal government over the Obama administration's pro-transgender policies will be withdrawing their lawsuit soon — a result of the new administration's policy shift — the Justice Department announced in a court filing Thursday.

The news came in a filing at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in which the Justice Department announced it would be withdrawing its appeal of a district court's injunction against the administration's pro-transgender student policies.

Once the appeal is dismissed, per the filing, the states will dismiss their case.

The move comes a week after the Education and Justice departments announced they had withdrawn the prior Obama-era pro-transgender guidance regarding protections for students under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

On Feb. 10, the Justice Department had withdrawn a request at the Fifth Circuit made under the Obama administration for the district court injunction to be limited during the appeal.

At that time, the joint motion noted, "The parties are currently considering how best to proceed in this appeal."

UPDATE

On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal, at which point the plaintiffs filed their notice of dismissal at the district court. In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared victory, saying, "We are proud to have led the 13-state coalition that successfully fought back against the Obama administration’s illegal federal overreach into the intimate spaces within our nation’s schools and workplaces."

This is a developing story. Please check back at BuzzFeed News for more.

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