Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has successfully blocked a Biden Administration rule that mandated the use of gender identity ideologies in foster care placements. The case has national implications.
A federal district court judge in Eastern Texas ruled that the US Department of Health and Human Services, under former Secretary Xavier Becerra, lacked the statutory authority to enforce a policy that conditioned federal funding for foster care programs on compliance with gender identity mandates.
The rule by the Biden Administration required Title IV-E and Title IV-B agencies to ensure that foster-care placements agree with and affirm a child’s self-professed LGBTQI+ identity. Agencies and providers who failed to comply faced penalties for “retaliation” and risked losing essential federal funding.
The “Final Rule first creates a new category of foster children — ‘LGBTQI+ children’ — which it defines as “children with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning, and intersex status or identity,” the judge wrote in his opinion. “The Rule then requires that States affirm and promote these children’s ‘LGBTQI+ status or identity’ in novel ways that potentially conflict with state law—or else lose federal funding for their foster care systems.”
The rule made it clear that by affirming a child’s LGBTQI+ status, the federal government means foster parents must arrange for medical procedures such as puberty blockers, gender-affirming medications, and surgeries.
Attorney General Paxton originally filed the lawsuit against HHS in September 2024, saying the rule violated state and federal law by compelling foster care providers to adopt controversial and non-scientifically sound gender ideologies.
The court’s decision to halt the rule from taking effect is a major victory for state autonomy, parental rights, and the well-being of children in foster care.
“This is a tremendous victory for Texas families, parental rights, and the rule of law,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The Biden Administration had no authority to force radical gender ideology onto vulnerable children and demand compliance from foster care providers under threat of lost funding. I will always fight to protect our values and ensure that Texas children are not used as pawns in the federal government’s social experiments.”
The 27-page ruling by District Court Judge Jeremy Kernodle reinforces Texas’ stance against federally imposed mandates that conflict with state policies and beliefs about gender identity. It also sets a precedent that could impact similar policies nationwide.
Read the court ruling at this link.
Judge shopping always gets a favorable initial plaintiff ruling.
That proves that the justice system is not blind…. When 92% of judges that rule against Trump are democrat appointed, one can see the rulings are not anything more than political hacks. I think a judge whose rulings routinely get overturned, should be fired. There has to be consequences to bad rulings or the judges will rule not according to law but political views. The judiciary is out of control.
They didn’t have to shop this one, Texas case heard IN Texas, not some weird venue , like HAwaii
If you’re in need of foster parents, then least thing you should do is force them to do something completely unethical. I applaud Paxton for doing the right thing.