A rule banning transgender people in Montana from changing the sex designation on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses will be temporarily blocked following a state judge’s ruling.
District Judge Mike Menahan on Monday ruled that the ban would be blocked while the case proceeds through the courts.
Under state law, transgender people born in Montana are blocked from changing the sex designation on their birth certificate, and transgender residents are prevented from changing the sex on their driver’s licenses without an amended birth certificate.
Two transgender women filed the case in April on behalf of themselves and others who have been unable to obtain documents "that accurately reflect their sex," the complaint said.
The state had argued that sex is binary, either male or female, and that being transgender is not a protected class of people who could have their constitutional rights to privacy violated.
Menahan said it was not necessary at this point in the litigation to determine whether transgender Montanans constitute a special class on the basis of their transgender status, and disagreed with the state’s argument that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is not discrimination on the basis of sex.
"If the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate on the basis of sex," he wrote.
The ruling comes days after the Montana supreme court temporarily blocked a state law banning transgender surgeries for minors, saying the law likely violates Montana’s constitutional right to privacy.
Montana contractors say they're having a hard time filling roles due to a construction labor shortage.
Noah Clayton/Getty Images
Montana contractors are struggling to hire due to a construction labor shortage.
Many contractors say they are actively recruiting Gen Z to get more young people into trades.
Some firms have apprenticeship programs that help young workers learn on the job.
Although Montana's population has grown considerably in recent years, it's facing worker shortages in several trades, according to a September report from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
Construction and healthcare were identified by Sarah Swanson, the department commissioner, as industries that would "need considerably more employees between now and 2032."
Contractors say that although demand for construction in Montana is strong, they can't hire enough people to keep up with all the potential work.
Now some Montana contractors are investing in recruiting efforts to attract more workers to the field, including by launching educational and apprenticeship programs and visiting high schools to encourage Gen Zers to consider construction as a career.
"We're trying to prove and show that these hands-on careers do have value," Bill Ryan, the education coordinator at Dick Anderson Construction, one of the largest contractors in Montana, told Business Insider.
"The tide is turning a little bit," he said. "We're starting to see more Gen Z consider going into trades."
Contractors are raising wages to attract workers
The construction labor shortage is not just hitting Montana, putting added pressure on contractors trying to hire.
Brian Turmail, the vice president of public affairs and workforce at the Associated General Contractors of America, told BI contractors around the US are struggling to fill roles.
AGC's annual workforce survey released in December found 94% of contractors said they had openings that were difficult to fill.
Ken Simonson, the chief economist at AGC, told BI that the number of workers in construction in Montana grew by 7% year-over-year as of October, compared to 3% growth nationally. Even as the sector is growing in the state, there's still more roles to fill.
Turmail said one factor driving the shortage is not unique to construction: an aging workforce.
"We just have a lot of people hanging up the tool belts and moving off to Florida to retire," he said.
He said there's also been about 40 years of federal government policy that focused on encouraging every student in America to go to college to get a four-year degree and work in the "knowledge economy."
As a result, he said there's been underinvestment in vocational or technical training, and in turn fewer young people pursing trades.
Some construction companies have tried to draw more people to the field with proactive recruiting efforts and higher wages — including trying to attract workers from out of state. Montana has already lured a high number transplants in part due to a relatively lower cost of living, especially when compared to a state like California, where many have moved from.
Ian Baylon, a tradesman from California, told BI earlier this year that when he visited Montana in 2022 and was considering moving there, he decided on a whim to see if anyone was hiring.
When he reached out to a company about an opening, they quickly invited him in for an interview. A week later when he was back home, they offered him the job — matching his Bay Area salary, plus moving costs and other perks.
In Montana, wage growth in construction grew annually by an average of 0.6% from 2020 to 2023, according to the state government report, with an average salary of $67,386.
Still, some say the growth in wages has not been enough to keep up with the rising costs of living in the state. An analysis by Construction Coverage, an industry site that reviews construction software and other services, found the average construction worker in Montana would need to work 68 hours a week to afford a median-priced home.
Construction employment in Montana is growing faster than other states but contractors still can't fill all their open roles.
Noah Clayton/Getty Images
Apprenticeship programs allow young workers to 'earn and learn'
Two of the largest contractors in Montana told BI that folks interested in getting into construction do not need any experience in the industry to get hired — they can learn on the job.
Representatives of both companies, Dick Anderson and Sletten Construction, said they also have dedicated apprenticeship programs that are a draw for new workers to the field, especially young people.
Ryan, of Dick Anderson, said he was hired by the company in 2021 to develop an education program that would help attract and retain employees. The four-year apprenticeship program allows employees to work and earn while also enrolling in classes at a college they partner with. Students who complete the program can come out of it with an associates degree, real work experience, and actual earnings.
While jobs in construction do not require an associates degree, Ryan said they can help with career advancement and promotions, as well as satisfy a desire to pursue some level of college.
"When we are talking to young people and mom and dad are saying, 'You're not going to work. You need to go to college,' we can at least say, 'Well, what if they're doing both at the same time?'"
Michelle Cohens, who works in human resource management at Sletten, said the company also has a four-year apprenticeship program that allows employees to "earn and learn." Employees in the program also take a week several times a year to do trainings with the union, and then come back and hop right back into work.
Both companies said they've developed relationships with high schools and high school educators to help reach young people, who they said seem increasingly open to forgoing college and considering trades.
After several years of trying to get in front of students, Cohens said the efforts do seem to be paying off, with more reaching out about jobs. She said young people are drawn in by the chance to work with their hands rather than sit at a computer all day, and the chance to avoid taking on student loans.
"We highlight how good paying jobs they are, how you can get into the trades right out of high school or without any true knowledge," she said, adding, "You're not paying us to learn, we're paying you to learn."
David Smith, executive director of the Montana Contractors' Association, said companies are also evolving their culture to meet Gen Z workers where they're at. Young people today, he said, don't necessarily want to work 55 hour weeks in the summer. They want breaks. They want to take time off.
In the last five or ten years contractors have realized "you can't just throw a job out there and say, 'Hey, we pay big wages,'" he said. "You've got to have other things, and the construction world has to think differently too."
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A Montana law banning transgender surgeries for minors will remain temporarily blocked following a state Supreme Court ruling that a Republican lawmaker is calling an "egregious example of hyperpartisanship."
The justices sided with a lower court judge who found that the law -- which sought to prohibit the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria -- likely violates Montana’s constitutional right to privacy.
Republican Sen. John Fuller, who sponsored the bill before it was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte in April 2023, told The Associated Press that the decision on Wednesday "is an egregious example of the hyperpartisanship of the Montana Supreme Court."
He criticized the courts for upholding the "ability to sterilize and mutilate children" and denying protection to children "from unscientific and experimental drugs and operations that have grown increasingly evident as a danger to children."
The ruling came on the same day the United Kingdom announced that "existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones will be made indefinite, following official advice from medical experts."
"Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people," Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said in a statement.
In Montana’s case, transgender youth argued the law would ban them from continuing to receive gender-affirming medical care, violating their constitutional rights to equal protection, the right to seek health care and the right to dignity. The state Supreme Court upheld the injunction based on the right to privacy, which court rulings have said includes the right to make personal medical decisions free from government interference.
Montana is one of at least 26 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors and most face lawsuits. Some bans have been temporarily blocked by courts, while others have been allowed to take effect. Fifteen states have enacted protections for gender-affirming medical care for minors.
"Today’s ruling permits our clients to breathe a sigh of relief," Akilah Deernose, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said in a statement. "But the fight for trans rights is far from over. We will continue to push for the right of all Montanans, including those who are transgender, to be themselves and live their lives free of intrusive government interference."
The case against the Montana law now goes to trial before District Court Judge Jason Marks, with the state attorney general’s office telling the AP it looks forward to defending the law.
"In upholding the district court’s flawed decision to temporarily block a duly enacted law, the Supreme Court put the wellbeing of children -- who have yet to reach puberty -- at risk by allowing experimental treatments that could leave them to deal with serious and irreversible consequences for the rest of their lives to continue," spokesperson Chase Scheuer said to the news agency.
In a majority opinion, Justice Beth Baker wrote that the law, titled Senate Bill 99, blocks "lawful medications and procedures administered by competent and licensed health care providers," according to The Washington Examiner.
"SB 99 affords no room for decision-making by a patient in consultation with their doctors and parents," she reportedly added. "The statute is a complete ban, prohibiting individualized care tailored to the needs of each patient based on the exercise of professional medical judgment and informed consent."
FIRST ON FOX: Fresh off ousting longtime Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, Republican Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy is outlining his priorities for the next Congress and outlining what his party’s agenda will look like in the Senate.
"I ran to make Montana affordable again and make America strong again," Sheehy, who defeated Tester in Montana by seven points in a key race that helped Republicans flip the Senate, told Fox News Digital about his plans to move forward President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
"That means a secure border, safe streets, cheap gas, cops are good, criminals are bad, boys are boys, and girls are girls. For too long, status quo politics in Washington have led our country to the brink, and it is past time to rein in our runaway federal bureaucracy, cut waste, restore common sense, and build a transparent government that is actually accountable to everyday Americans."
Sheehy said he plans to "strap rocket-boosters to the Trump agenda" when he takes office in January in order to "get our country back on track."
"My promise to every Montanan is simple: As your senator, I will always fight for Montanans, put America First, and do the right thing in office because it’s the right thing for Montana and America."
Part of getting the country back on track, according to Sheehy, is immediate action at the southern border.
"We’ve got to seal the border on day one, and that's exactly what President Trump has vowed to do," Sheehy said. "In the Senate, we must support the America First agenda and pass enduring legislation that will finally put an end to the senseless border crisis that flooded our communities with drugs and crime the last four years."
Republicans across the country campaigned on the economy and specifically the issue of inflation and raising costs, which Sheehy said would be a top focus for him in the Senate.
"One of my top priorities is working to bring down prices for families and boost real wages for the hardworking Americans – farmers, miners, loggers, truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters – who put food on our tables and keep our economy running," Sheehy said.
"That means we must bring back our resource economy, especially in Montana, because we do it better, safer, and more efficiently here in America than anywhere else, and we must unapologetically put an end to the radical, job-killing Green New Deal agenda that has devastated our forestry, mining, and energy exploration industries. We must unleash American energy across the board."
Sheehy told Fox News Digital that protecting public lands, a key issue in a state like Montana with large swaths of rural areas, will be at the top of the agenda.
"Another key priority will be protecting our communities and public lands from wildfires," Sheehy explained.
"As recently as August, I was water-bombing fires and protecting our communities. I know firsthand the devastation wildfires can cause and have a unique perspective on how the federal government has failed on this issue. I will fight for Montanans to be able to better manage our own federal lands and ensure radical environmentalists aren't steering our federal policy when it comes to public lands."
Sheehy, a combat veteran, told Fox News Digital that when it comes to foreign policy, it is critical for the military to focus on winning wars as opposed to social issues.
"As a combat veteran myself, who is married to a combat veteran, I know we must rebuild our military, ensure our forces are ready to fight and win wars, and prioritize combat lethality – not social initiatives – for our brave men and women in uniform to keep them and our great nation safe," Sheehy said.
Republicans will head into the next Congress holding a 53-47 Senate majority along with razor-thin control of the House of Representatives.
Trump reportedly called into a Tuesday meeting to speak with the Republican senators as they discussed legislative priorities, as he will have to work closely with the chamber to move forward his own agenda.
"He was thrilled with his victory," Sen. John Barrasso, R–Wyo., said of Trump’s call, the Hill reported. "We have a mandate and an opportunity to do the sorts of things that we campaigned upon in terms of lowering prices, in terms of the border, in terms of getting America back on track."
Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady contributed to this report
Sen. Jon Tester is getting testy with reporters during his remaining weeks in Congress after being booted from his long-held Montana Senate seat.
President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday, absolving him of any charges for crimes he "committed or may have committed" between January 2014 and December 2024.
On Monday, Tester was asked about Biden's controversial move to pardon his son, to which the senator offered a rather blunt response.
"I’m one month from getting the f--- out of here," he said with a smile, according to CNN and other outlets. "Ask somebody who counts."
The comment comes nearly one month after the three-term Montana Democrat was ousted by Republican Navy SEAL Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy in one of the most closely watched races of the 2024 cycle.
While Tester did not answer the question, Democrats on Capitol Hill have been speaking out against Biden's decision to relieve his son from facing any potential federal charges over the course of the past decade.
"President Biden’s decision to pardon his son was wrong. A president's family and allies shouldn't get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich, wrote in a post on X.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., also said that Biden's decision "further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all."
Efforts to reach Tester's office for comment at press time were unsuccessful.
The Biden administration announced a big decision to block new mining in a key region producing nearly half of the nation's coal over climate change concerns, but it could be short-lived as President-elect Trump prepares to make U.S. energy dominance a key focus of his incoming administration.
Biden's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently approved an amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) to ban new federal coal leases and make "48.12 billion short tons of coal unavailable for leasing consideration in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a proxy for climate change," according to Todd D. Yeager, BLM Buffalo field manager.
The decision will block any new federal mining leases in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, the country's largest coal producing region, by 2041. This region produces about 40% of the nation's coal. BLM, however, will allow for existing coal leases to still be developed.
In a statement to Fox News Digital regarding the decision, Trump's transition team reinforced the idea of the president-elect's campaign promise to bolster American-made energy.
"Families have suffered under the past four years' war on American energy, which prompted the worst inflation crisis in a generation. Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers," Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, said in a statement.
Leavitt added that when Trump takes office, he "will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families."
The Powder River Basin lease ban, which covers parts of southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, includes making more than 1.7 million acres unavailable for coal leasing within the Miles City Field Office planning area.
The BLM memo claimed that the "U.S. energy market is moving away from coal to lower priced natural gas and renewable energy sources." But the affected state representatives say the region is a vital natural energy resource.
The decision was widely criticized by Montana and Wyoming elected officials, including Sen. Steve Daines, R–Mont., who said he would be introducing legislation in an attempt to reverse the decision.
"At every turn, the Biden administration has launched attack after attack on made-in-Montana energy, and the people of Montana and the rest of the country rebuked the administration for it at the ballot box," Daines said in a statement following the decision. "… Eastern Montana is rich in coal and mining operations and the jobs and coal produced in the Powder River Basin help support our national security, bolster our energy grid and create high-paying jobs."
"Once again, the Biden-Harris administration is ignoring states and crippling our energy supply," Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said in a statement. "While Montana supports an 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy, the White House is picking winners and losers on the president's way out the door. Simply put, this rule will destroy coal jobs and defund public education in Montana. It's a disaster."
"After the American people issued a stunning rebuke to President Biden, he continues to punish Wyoming communities," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement. "I will work with President Trump and his team to reverse this and other midnight regulations."
The BLM memo said the administration is blocking coal leasing to support Biden's target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, suggesting that "the U.S. energy market is moving away from coal to lower priced natural gas and renewable energy sources."
Earth Justice, an environmental justice group, also claimed the mining bans stemmed from an evolving approach to energy production.
"Coal has powered our nation for many decades, but technology, economics and markets are changing radically. BLM’s announcement recognizes that coal’s era is ending, and it’s time to focus on supporting our communities through the transition away from coal, investing in workers, and moving to heal our lands, waters and climate as we enter a bright clean energy future," Paula Antoine, Western Organization of Resource Councils board chair, said in an Earth Justice press release after Biden announced his initial plans in May.
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — a Democrat who identifies as a "progressive, bisexual trans woman" — claimed that transgender women are "every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women."
"I literally just got out of meetings with members of Congress & used the bathroom on my way out. Trans women are women—full stop," Zephyr declared in a post on X.
"We're every bit as "biologically female" as cis women & @SpeakerJohnson's statement doesn't change the fact that women's spaces include trans women," Zephyr added.
Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to Zephyr for comment on Thursday.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement issued on Wednesday that single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings are for members of the corresponding biological sex.
"All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex," he said in the statement.
"It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol," Johnson added. "Women deserve women’s only spaces."
U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democratic Delaware state senator, will become the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress after being sworn in to office next year.
"I'm not here to fight about bathrooms. I'm here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them," McBride said in a statement.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has referred to McBride as a "biological male," said in a post on X, "Sarah McBride’s promise to abide by Speaker Johnson's policy is a step toward acknowledging the rights of women everywhere—something we’ll continue to demand without compromise."
Mace had proposed a resolution to prohibit House members and others from frequenting single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not align with their biological sex.
"A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of such individual," the text of her resolution read, noting that the House sergeant-at-arms would be tasked with enforcement.
Johnson initially declined to answer on Tuesday when asked whether McBride is a man or a woman, but the speaker later made a statement in which he said he had rejected the question's "premise because the answer is … so obvious."
"A man is a man. And a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman," Johnson declared. "But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity."
Mace, who has declared on X that "A trans woman is still a man," has announced a bill that would stipulate that people may only enter single-sex facilities on federal property that match their biological sex.
The proposal provides exceptions for medical workers responding to an emergency and for law enforcement officers chasing a suspect or conducting an investigation.
"Oh you thought threatening me would silence me? No. I just doubled down and filed a new bill to protect women and girls across the entire country on all federal property everywhere," Mace declared in a post on X.
