Judge blocks Trump’s ‘unabashedly demeaning’ ban on transgender service members for now

A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction that blocks Donald Trump’s administration from removing transgender service members in all U.S. military branches after a lawsuit challenged his sweeping command to remove all transgender troops, end their gender-affirming healthcare and deny new trans recruits.

In a loss for the Trump administration, Tuesday’s order from District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocks the president’s ban as well as a Pentagon memo with additional guidance. She gave the administration until 10 a.m. March 21 to appeal. One minute after that deadline, the order will automatically take effect, she said.

The court’s order — which follows a lawsuit from more than 20 trans service members — is intended to “maintain the status quo of military policy regarding transgender service that existed immediately before” Trump issued his executive order, Reyes wrote.

Judge Reyes argues that a categorical ban on trans service members in the nation’s military discriminates based on transgender status and sex — and because “it is soaked in animus.”

“Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact,” she wrote.

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The president’s January directive claims the “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.”

The judge also ordered the Trump administration to maintain and continue the military statuses of the 20 plaintiffs, a group that includes decorated U.S. military service members across all branches.

The plaintiffs’ service records are “remarkable,” Reyes said during a hearing this month.

“You’re going to get rid of all these very qualified people who the military has spent millions of dollars into training specialized jobs for no other reason than they have had gender dysphoria or they transition,” she said.

The judge’s order means “a huge burden lifted off me and my family,” said U.S. Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Nicholas Talbott, the lead plaintiff in the case.

“It’s a tremendous step forward for so many people,” he told reporters Wednesday. “We’re going to stay mission-focused and combat-ready because at the end of the day, that’s really all that matters.”

U.S. Army Major Erica Vandal said trans service members have “been struggling with a lot of uncertainty since the campaign season and since the [executive order] was put in place.”

“All of that is sort of tempered, knowing there’s a fight ahead. But it’s a step in the right direction,” she said.

“I receive nothing but support, acceptance and love” from her colleagues and leadership, and “regardless of the rhetoric that’s out there, I continue to be the professional expected of us and serve with honor with these individuals,” Vandal said.

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Across a series of lengthy court hearings, Department of Justice lawyers repeatedly appeared to tie themselves in knots under the judge’s questioning. The judge poked holes in the data included in a Department of Defense memo, asked simple questions about the scope of the ban which government lawyers failed to answer, and scolded attorneys for their apparent lack of preparedness.

A memo from Pentagon leadership revealed in court documents on February 26 gave military officials 30 days to identify all trans troops, and all removals “must be completed” no later than June 25. The order also immediately bans access to gender-affirming care for all trans service members.

Pentagon guidance claims that “the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”

During a hearing in February, the judge condemned the president’s “demeaning,” “biologically inaccurate” and “frankly ridiculous” language in an executive order that revoked federal recognition of trans, nonbinary and intersex people — an order that forms the basis for a flood of other actions from the administration targeting trans Americans.

Judge Reyes suggested that, taken together, Trump’s executive orders against trans people “scream animus,” or are motivated by prejudice.

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“The court's unambiguous factual findings lay bare how this ban specifically targets and undermines our courageous service members who have committed themselves to defending our nation,” according Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law’s senior director of transgender and queer rights, which is representing the plaintiffs. “Given the Court's clear-eyed assessment, we are confident this ruling will stand strong on appeal.”

Shannon Minter, legal director with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the court’s actions “shield our troops from the harmful effects of this irrational ban.”

“It would have ended careers of dedicated transgender servicemembers and created personnel gaps, leaving others to fill critical roles. The ban's harmful impact and rushed implementation show that it was motivated by prejudice," Minter said in a statement shared with The Independent.

"Our plaintiffs include lifelong military personnel who served in combat in Afghanistan, come from multi-generation military families, and have received honors like the Bronze Star,” he added. “This ban is unjustifiable and attacks brave servicemembers, recruits, and families who sacrifice so much for our country.”

This story was first published March 18 and has been updated with developments