NEW ORLEANS—A federal appeals court refused Friday to hear Chinese tech giant Huawei’s request to throw out a rule used to bar rural phone carriers on national security grounds from using government funds to purchase its equipment. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was fully within its power and competence to issue the rule barring “Universal Service Fund” subsidies recipients from buying equipment or services from companies deemed national security risks. The three-judge panel also dismissed a claim by Huawei Technologies Ltd that the FCC lacked the expertise to designate the company’s equipment as a security risk to U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. “Assessing security risks to telecom networks falls in the FCC’s wheelhouse,” the judges wrote in a 60-page opinion, rejecting any suggestion it was some sort of “junior-varsity” agency on national security matters. Huawei did not immediately offer a response to the ruling. …