Trump Rescinds Obama Bathroom Rules, Saying It’s A State’s Rights Issue

Education, Justice departments say local school districts and state governments should have ‘primary role’ in setting policy.

The Trump administration on Wednesday formally withdrew Obama administration rules granting transgender individuals access to the sex-segregated facilities of their choice, including bathrooms.

The rules were dropped because they didn’t “contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process,” according to an official letter to the civil-rights divisions of the departments of Justice and Education from acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights T.E. Wheeler and acting Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Sandra Battle.

They added that former President Barack Obama’s rules had set off significant litigation, noting in particular that courts differed over the definition of the term “sex.” The letter also emphasized the agencies’ preference that states and local school districts be given a primary role in setting education policy.

“The president has made it clear throughout the campaign that he is a firm believer in states’ rights and that certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at a news conference Wednesday.

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