Judge orders longer-term nationwide block on Trump orders on transgender youth health care

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge extended a nationwide block Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.

The judge’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president’s orders.

A national group for family of LGBTQ+ people and a doctors organization are also plaintiffs in the court challenge, one of more than 100 lawsuits opposing a slew of executive orders Trump has issued as he seeks to reverse the policies of former President Joe Biden.

The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson in Baltimore, a Biden nominee, keeps enforcement of the orders on hold while the case plays out, though the administration is expected to appeal.

Several hospitals across the country halted such care for minors in the days after Trump's order to avoid losing federal funding.

Another judge in Seattle has also blocked the orders in four states in a separate lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic-led states.