The government shutdown is delaying major rulings in cases against the Trump administration, including California's challenge on federal restrictions on transgender healthcare.
The Department of Justice earlier this month argued that the shutdown had prevented lawyers from working on the case and asked a federal judge to halt the proceedings temporarily.
"Department of Justice attorneys and employees of the federal defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including 'emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,'" the DOJ wrote in its Oct. 1 filing.
The judge presiding over the case agreed and granted the request.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 14 other states and the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit in August in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the Trump administration over a January executive order that makes it U.S. policy not to "fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support" gender transition for people under 19.
The order threatens to pull federal funding from medical institutions that provide this type of care.
"The result is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation experienced by transgender individuals, their families and caregivers, and the medical professionals who seek only to provide necessary, lawful care to their patients," the attorneys general wrote in the suit.
Gender-affirming care is legal and protected for people 18 years and older in California.
The shutdown has reached its third week with no end in sight.
The effects of the shutdown are beginning to be felt across the country. Flights have been delayed, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay are starting to miss paychecks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this week the country is "barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history."
The last shutdown, during Trump's first term, went on for a record 35 days and drew similar public sentiment, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to see it as a major problem.
The White House has warned the impact of the shutdown could be worse this time.
While roughly 2 million service members were paid on time this week, the administration has used the federal workforce as leverage, and last weekend it began following through on threats to lay off federal workers.
However on Wednesday, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the firings, saying they appeared to be politically motivated and were being carried out without much thought.
Newsmax Wires contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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