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A USS Wasp crewman sports the “Make Aircrew Great Again” patch, with an image of President Donald Trump, during Trump’s visit Tuesday to the assault ship in Japan.
A USS Wasp crewman sports the “Make Aircrew Great Again” patch, with an image of President Donald Trump, during Trump’s visit Tuesday to the assault ship in Japan.

Justices decline transgender-policy case

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a Pennsylvania school district's policy letting transgender students use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities.

Without comment, the court declined to review an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that upheld the Boyertown Area School District policy. It had been challenged by six former or current high school students.

The court's decision not to review the case does not set a national precedent.

However, Ria Tabacco Mar, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, called it an "enormous victory."

"Today's announcement allows schools to move forward with policies that support transgender students. But our work is far from over. We will continue to defend the transgender community from attacks in the courts, the legislatures, and the White House," Mar said.

The administration of President Barack Obama in 2016 issued guidance to school systems across the country to allow transgender students use the bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. The Supreme Court accepted a case to review that policy.

But a month after President Donald Trump took office, his administration rescinded the guidance, and the court sent the case back to lower courts.

The Pennsylvania case is Doe v. Boyertown Area School District.

Border Patrol plans to hire more workers

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Border Patrol said Tuesday that it's working to hire additional staff members to manage the processing of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Officials said the aim is to take the burden off uniformed agents, who can then go back into the field. Border resources are stretched thin as the U.S. manages increasingly more families coming from Central America.

Agents said they are spending more than half of their time feeding and caring for migrant families. Paperwork processing alone can take three hours per family. There were 58,474 families apprehended last month.

It's unclear how many jobs will be open. They are envisioned as full-time staff positions, but Border Patrol officials said details were still being worked out.

Border Patrol has about 19,500 agents assigned nationwide and has struggled with hiring for many years -- the number of agents peaked at 21,444 in fiscal 2011.

Courts asked to void 'conscience' rule

WASHINGTON -- Lambda Legal and other civil-rights groups are asking the courts to strike down a Department of Health and Human Services "conscience" rule that will expand the situations in which health providers, insurers and others could refuse to provide or pay for services that they say violate their religious or moral beliefs.

The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California claims the policy, which was published May 21, is unconstitutional and exceeds the agency's statutory authority.

President Donald Trump personally announced the rule during a speech before faith leaders who say the protections are necessary because of ineffectual enforcement of existing statutes protecting such decisions.

The new challenge is being filed by Lambda Legal, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Plaintiffs include California's Santa Clara County, the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Washington-based Whitman-Walker Health.

According to the complaint, the new policy "creates a wholly new regime that elevates religious objections over all other interests and values."

The rule is one of a number of new socially conservative Health and Human Services Department policies -- such as new funding criteria for providers of family planning services that abortion providers fear will shut them out -- that are under a court challenge.

Navy uniforms' Trump patches scrutinized

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy said it is reviewing whether service members violated Defense Department policy or regulations by wearing a uniform patch with the words "Make Aircrew Great Again" during President Donald Trump's visit to their ship in Japan.

Trump visited the USS Wasp assault ship on Tuesday before returning to Washington from four days in Japan.

The phrase emblazoned on the patch, along with a likeness of Trump, is a play on his campaign slogan.

The military has uniform dress codes and regulations against partisan political acts while in uniform.

In a brief statement Tuesday, the Navy said only that the matter was under review by Navy leadership to ensure that the wearing of the patches did not violate policy or regulations.

A Section on 05/29/2019

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