-In a clear shift away from his predecessor, President Donald Trump's White House has asked a judge to cancel a crucial hearing in a legal appeal over an Obama-era rule regarding transgender bathroom use.

Former President Barack Obama issued a controversial administrative rule in May 2016 extending Title IX protections to transgendered individuals, ensuring their right to use the bathroom they claim aligns with their gender identity.

Had state-funded schools, colleges and universities not complied with the directive, it could put public institutions at risk of losing federal funding.

In August, Texas and 12 other states sued the Obama administration over the transgender directive. Critics of the guidance argue Obama's Justice and Education Departments attempted to rewrite the definition of "sex" in "sex-based discrimination" to include gender identity and Republicans have asserted that the decision imposed federal mandates by unlawfully sidestepping Congress...

...A hearing on the appeal request was scheduled for Tuesday. But the Trump administration, in a Friday filing at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asked to withdraw the motion filed by the Obama administration to roll back O'Connor's ruling on the controversial guidance, according to the Associated Press.

The filing came on the heels of the swearing in of Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general. The Justice Department's filing said the parties involved are "currently considering how best to proceed in this appeal."

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said over the weekend that the agency is not commenting further on the matter.

The Human Rights Campaign's legal director, Sarah Warbelow, said Friday that the LGBT advocacy group is "incredibly disappointed" with the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the legal battle...

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/02...athroom-rules/