Trump Barred From Removing Health Agencies’ Webpages, Data (2)

A federal judge is blocking the Trump administration from removing or substantially modifying government health webpages and data that related to navigating mental health, monitoring HIV diagnoses and treatment, sex differences, and diversity in clinical trials.

Doctors for America, a group representing thousands of doctors across the US, proved that certain scrubbed webpages that the administration took down at the end of January pursuant to an executive order would cause them harm, Judge John D. Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Wednesday’s order.

The Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act by “swiftly enacting and implementing sweeping and poorly thought-through directives that ordered the bulk removal of health care resources on which the government had induced substantial and ongoing reliance,” Bates wrote.

“This case involves government officials acting first and thinking later,” Bates wrote. “The problem here is not so much the underlying policy decision but rather compliance with the law in effectuating that decision.”

Doctors for America sued the administration in February, arguing the Office of Personnel Management lacked legal authority to order the removal of the webpages and data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The group alleged the pages were wiped at the end of January in order to comply with President Donald Trump ’s executive order that would end government programs promoting what he called “gender ideology.”

Bates’ order vacates an OPM memorandum titled “Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women” and a Department of Health and Human Services memo titled “Action: Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women.” He also ordered the doctors group to produce by July 11 a list of all HHS webpages and datasets it relied upon.

“The government is free to say what it wants, including about ‘gender ideology,’” Bates wrote in the order. “But in taking action, it must abide by the bounds of authority and the procedures that Congress has prescribed, through the APA and otherwise. And the government failed to do so here.”

The defendants must also revert “to their prior versions any substantial modifications made to the Plaintiffs’ Identified Webpages on or after 12:00 a.m. on January 29, 2025, on the basis of the OPM Memo or HHS Guidance,” he said.

“The court found that the government violated the law when it took down important health information that physicians and other public health professionals rely on to keep all of us healthy,” said Zach Shelley, a Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney representing Doctors for America. “The decision serves as a reminder that the government must follow the law, just like the rest of us.”

The OPM didn’t respond to request for comment.

Public Citizen Litigation Group represents Doctors for America. The Department of Justice represents the government.

The case is Doctors for America v. Office of Personnel Management, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-00322, order filed 7/2/25.