Judge Blocks Trump's Trans Military Ban
Judge Blocks Trump's Trans Military Ban
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the U.S. military from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender people from military service while a lawsuit by 20 current and would-be service members challenging the measure goes forward.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington found that Trump's January 27 order, one of a several issued by the Republican president impacting legal rights for transgender Americans, likely violated the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on sex discrimination.
Reyes was appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump's Democrat predecessor.
In response to Trump's order, the military said on Feb. 11 that it would no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and would stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members. Later that month, the military said it would begin expelling transgender members.
Trump said in his order that "adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life."
Trump issued a similar order during his first term, during which already-serving transgender members were allowed to remain.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued that the order was illegal, pointing to a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that employment discrimination against transgender people is a form of illegal sex discrimination.
Lawyers for the government have argued in court that the military is entitled to bar people with certain conditions that make them unsuitable for service, also including bipolar disorder and eating disorders.
At a March 12 hearing, they told Reyes that she should defer to the judgment of the current administration that transgender people are not fit for service.
The judge repeatedly pressed them to justify their stance with evidence, and at times expressed open outrage at the order's language denigrating the character of transgender people.
The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.
Leo XIV Is the New Pope
May 8, 2025
5 min
Trump Considers Jeanine Pirro to Replace Ed Martin as Top DC Prosecutor
May 8, 2025
2 min
FBI Opens Criminal Investigation of Letitia James
May 8, 2025
2 min
Texas AG Paxton Announces Vote Fraud Charges Against 6 People
May 8, 2025
1 min
Trump Announces Trade Deal with UK
May 8, 2025
1 min
Pakistan ‘Kills’ 50 Indian Soldiers in Retaliation Strikes
May 8, 2025
4 min
Bill Gates Accuses Elon Musk of ‘Killing’ Children with USAID Cuts
May 8, 2025
3 min
Trump Plans Executive Order to Slash Drug Prices
May 8, 2025
2 min
Trump to Announce Trade Deal with UK Thursday
May 8, 2025
3 min
Trump to Remove Biden-Era Chip Export Restrictions
May 8, 2025
3 min
Pro-Palestinian Protesters Take Over Columbia University Library — 80+ Arrested
May 8, 2025
5 min
Iranian Terror Cell Plotted Attack on Israeli Embassy in London
May 8, 2025
3 min
Putin and Maduro Sign Strategic Partnership Treaty in Moscow
May 8, 2025
<1 min
Ex-Porn Star Who Claimed He’s Diddy’s Sex Slave Signed $5M NDA
May 8, 2025
4 min
AG Bondi: Tens of Thousands of Videos of Epstein with Children, Child Porn
May 7, 2025
2 min
FBI Arrests 200+ Child Sex Predators
May 7, 2025
2 min
Pakistan Authorizes Military Response After India Strikes
May 7, 2025
5 min
Fed Holds Rates Steady — Warns of Stagflation
May 7, 2025
3 min
2nd Navy Jet Falls Into Red Sea from Truman Aircraft Carrier
May 7, 2025
3 min
Black Smoke Over Vatican Signal No Pope Elected on 1st Day
May 7, 2025
4 min