Jonathan Skrmetti, the Republican attorney general of Tennessee, has pledged that he will sue the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden if it finalizes a rule forcing gender ideology on foster parents.

Skrmetti laid out the legal arguments against the rule in a conversation Wednesday with "The Daily Signal Podcast."

"This is a federal agency making law, treading on both the prerogatives of Congress and really the prerogatives of the state legislatures," Skrmetti said.

"Family law has always been a state issue," he explained. "The states have developed a rich body of family law dealing with issues like foster care. This is a really heavy-handed intrusion by the federal government in pursuit of a political end but at the expense of kids. So constitutionally, there's a structural problem with a federal agency making law in an area where the states should be making the law and where the states have been making the law."

HHS’ Administration for Children and Families proposed a new rule Sept. 28 on “Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements” and allowed Americans to submit public comments by Nov. 27. Skrmetti submitted a comment as Tennessee's attorney general, and 16 other state attorneys general signed on to it.

Enjoy the conversation with Skrmetti.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices