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FTC Sues Doctor Group Over Child Transgender Surgery Guidance
The Trump administration and several states on June 17 sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a global physician group that promotes child transgender surgeries and hormonal treatments to children. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the states said the organization’s guidance on gender transition surgeries, which does not mention any minimum ages, is not based on medical evidence.
“Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said: “Any group that illegally promotes irreversible, life-altering ‘transitioning’ procedures to kids as safe and necessary will face the full force of the law for harming children.
We will not allow WPATH or any other organization to illegally promote or perform dangerous ‘transitioning’ procedures on our kids that leave them with permanent trauma and lifelong health consequences.”
Federal Judge Blocks USDA’s Snap Restrictions on Soda, Candy in Five States
A federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s restrictions on using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on soda and candy in five states.
Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia “submitted requests to the USDA to conduct pilot projects” between April and August 2025 to “waive the federal definition of ‘food,’” removing certain items from that definition, such as soft drinks and soda, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, wrote in her order on Monday.
“Congress defined what ‘food’ is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted. It did not authorize the agency to cut types of food out of SNAP entirely,” she later wrote.“It set out clearly the type of experimental projects that could be tested to address the unquestionably serious health issues attributed to the rise of obesity in the population in general and particularly the low-income population,” such as increasing access to healthy food, Jackson continued.
She also wrote that the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008’s definition of “food” guides what SNAP benefits can be used to purchase, according to USDA policy.
Bipartisan House Bill Would Ban Paraquat Pesticide
Lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to federally ban the use of paraquat, an herbicide widely used in U.S. agriculture despite its potential health impacts. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) introduced the Paraquat Prevention Act last week.
The bill would cancel all registered uses of paraquat and permanently prohibit its reregistration. It would also ensure no levels of paraquat residue are tolerated in food.
The legislation builds on a Vermont ban on the sale and use of paraquat, which was signed into law in May. While Vermont was the first U.S. state to ban the use of the herbicide, paraquat is already banned in over 70 countries, including Brazil, China, and every nation of the European Union.
Critics of paraquat point to the mounting scientific evidence that links paraquat exposure to the risk of Parkinson’s disease. By continuing to allow the use of paraquat, American farmers and farmworkers are left “unprotected,” according to a press release from Pingree’s office.
House Kids’ Safety Deal Complicates AI Talks
The bipartisan deal on kids’ online safety that the House Energy and Commerce Committee rolled out Monday threatens to derail hopes of passing major tech and AI legislation this year.
A major reason: key differences from a kids’ safety and AI package that Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is negotiating with the Trump administration. The White House is working to shore up support for a Blackburn-led kids’ safety package that could ultimately block or replace some state AI laws.
Unlike Blackburn’s package, the House bill text blessed by Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), would not require online companies to design social media platforms with an eye for children’s safety. (This concept is known as a “duty of care.”) It also omits language preempting state artificial intelligence laws — a major Silicon Valley priority Senate Republicans are expected to take up.
California Sues US EPA Over Sending Emissions Rules to Congress for Potential Reversal
The state of California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday after the agency earlier this month sent the Republican-controlled Congress landmark state vehicle emissions rules for potential repeal. The EPA said waivers under the Clean Air Act for California environmental regulations approved under prior Democratic administrations should have been sent to lawmakers under the Congressional Review Act.
California said the action was illegal and should be blocked by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the EPA was seeking to “wave a magic wand” and turn a waiver into a rule. “These latest illegal actions would mean more pollution, poorer air quality, more market uncertainty, and greater health risks for communities already overburdened by emissions,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, noting the state has received more than 75 waivers for environmental actions. The EPA did not immediately comment.
