A federal court on Thursday invalidated the Biden administration’s ambitious overhaul of Title IX, handing the Democratic president a significant defeat on transgender rights as he prepares to leave office.
U.S. District Chief Judge Danny Reeves granted summary judgment to a five-state coalition challenging the Department of Education’s regulatory change of adding “gender identity” to Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education.
The judge found that the department exceeded its statutory authority, violated the First Amendment of the Constitution and acted capriciously in approving the sweeping rewrite.
“As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head,” said Judge Reeves, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky by President George W. Bush in 2001.
The ruling applies to the five states in the coalition — Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana and West Virginia — and nationwide.
“The district court ruling applies nationwide and to every part of the Biden Title IX rule, meaning the rule is completely invalidated, and the U.S. Department of Education is unable to enforce it — anywhere,” said the Alliance Defending Freedom, representing two intervenors in the case.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called the decision “a huge win.” He said, “President Biden’s radical Title IX rewrite is dead and common sense is ALIVE!”
A victory against the luciferian cabal AWESOME!!