Judge orders Trump to reinstate websites abruptly scrubbed after he took office

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled that President Donald Trump's administration must immediately restore public health webpages that were abruptly deleted after the new president took office.

In a two-page filing on Tuesday, Bates granted a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration's Office of Personnel Management and directed the Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and Food and Drug Administration to restore the webpages.

The judge ordered the agencies to work with Doctors for America to identify information that was relied on "to provide medical care and that defendants removed or substantially modified on or after January 29, 2025, without adequate notice or reasoned explanation."

The parties were also ordered to submit a report detailing their efforts before further court proceedings set for Feb. 13.

Bates had grappled with whether or not to restore the webpages after they were removed to comply with Trump's executive order aimed at stifling transgender care.

ALSO READ:'Making America less safe': Democrats warn of disaster as Trump purges the CIA

Zachary Shelley, an attorney for the plaintiffs, argued that restoring the webpages could prevent public health threats like a chlamydia outbreak in a high school.

"There is immense harm to the public," Shelley explained. "There is increased risk of disease outbreak."