Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Cutting $35M Sex Ed Grants Over Gender Identity

A federal judge in Oregon has issued a preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's administration from withdrawing federal funding for sexual education programs that include curricula referencing diverse gender identities. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 16 states and the District of Columbia, which argued that the administration's conditions for funding violated federal law, the separation of powers, and amounted to unlawful sex discrimination. The Department of Health and Human Services had imposed new grant conditions forbidding the inclusion of gender identity topics, claiming these were inconsistent with biological and medical science. Judge Ann Aiken found that the department failed to provide evidence or consider relevant laws and data, stating that denying the existence of transgender and gender-diverse people results in medically inaccurate curricula. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose state co-led the lawsuit, welcomed the decision, emphasizing the protection of important health education programs. The administration has not responded directly to the ruling but previously affirmed its commitment to removing what it termed "radical gender and DEI ideology" from federal programs.