The federal government should not be involved in deciding transgender policies, and which bathroom people use is something that should be determined entirely by the states, the White House reaffirmed Thursday.
"It's a state's rights issue, and that's entirely what [President Donald Trump] believes," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said, per the Washington Examiner, echoing statements made earlier in the week.
"If a state wants to pass a rule or a law . . . that's their right. But, it shouldn't be the federal government getting in the way of this."
The Trump administration Wednesday rolled back former President Barack Obama's guidance issued to public schools in May 2016 to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity.
"[It's a] very huge example of the Obama administration's overreach," DeVos said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on Thursday.
When pressed on Trump's personal belief on the transgender issue and the intent of Obama's order, Spicer refused to elaborate because Trump wanted to avoid steering states in any specific direction, per the Examiner.
Spicer did remind during the press briefing Trump said he supported Caitlyn Jenner, formerly U.S. Olympian Bruce Jenner, using the women's room at Trump Tower, according to the report.
"Children do enjoy rights from anti-bullying statutes that are in almost every state, and there is a difference between being compassionate for individuals, and children who are struggling with something, and making sure they're protected, and how it's being done," Spicer added, per the Examiner.
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