Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday criticised a federal judge’s decision to reinstate government web pages removed under President Donald Trump’s executive order on gender ideology, calling it “truly absurd.”
The ruling, issued by US District Judge John Bates, granted a temporary restraining order sought by the nonprofit group Doctors for America, which argued that the removed pages contained essential medical information used by its members for patient care and research. The decision has sparked criticism from conservatives, including US Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who denounced it as an “unprecedented assault on legitimate presidential authority.”
“These judges are waging an unprecedented assault on legitimate presidential authority, all the way down to dictating what webpages the government has. This is absurd,” Lee wrote on X.
Musk echoed Lee’s sentiments and said, “Truly absurd. Judges as website editors!? We should at least ATTEMPT to fire this junky jurist. The notion of having a judge job for life, no matter how bad the judgments, is ridiculous! Enough is enough.”
Judge Bates ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) likely violated federal law by removing the information.
Trump’s executive order, signed on his first day in office, recognised only two sexes-male and female-and directed federal agencies to eliminate content that “promotes or supports gender ideology.” Following this, the Office of Personnel Management instructed all agencies to remove such materials from public websites and social media by January 31.
In compliance with the directive, the CDC and FDA took down several web pages and data sets, including medical guidelines on sexually transmitted infections and adult immunisation. The removal prompted backlash from medical professionals and advocacy groups, leading to the court challenge.