A federal judge has rejected a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to shield a top health official from testifying in a lawsuit challenging the state’s prohibition on Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender people. State attorneys have been wrangling with plaintiffs’ lawyers seeking to depose Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida, arguing that, under what is known as the “apex doctrine,” Weida should not have to testify because he is a high-ranking official. But U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Tuesday denied the state’s request for a protective order to block Weida’s deposition, finding that he likely has “relevant, indeed significant, information not available from other sources.”