A federal judge on Tuesday (Mar 18) temporarily blocked the US 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.
US District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington found Trump’s Jan 27 order, one of several issued by the Republican president targeting legal rights for transgender Americans, likely violated the US Constitution’s prohibition on sex discrimination.
“The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender service members have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them,” Reyes said.
Reyes was appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic predecessor. Jennifer Levi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, praised the court for acting “decisively and swiftly”.
“This ruling pulls no punches. The court methodically documented the concrete harms this ban inflicts on brave transgender service members who ask nothing more than to serve their country with honor,” Levi said in a statement. Representatives of the White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In response to Trump’s order, the military said on Feb 11 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”.
Reyes said in her ruling the government had conceded the plaintiffs were excellent soldiers and living proof “transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence”.
“So why discharge them and other decorated soldiers? Crickets from defendants on this key question,” Reyes said. Trump issued a similar executive order during his first term, during which already-serving transgender members were allowed to remain.
