The judge said she will stay the preliminary injunction until March 21 to allow the administration time to appeal.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to exclude individuals with a gender identity inconsistent with their sex from military service.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted a preliminary injunction in favor of a group of transgender-identifying active-duty service members who challenged Trump’s order, saying that the order likely violates their constitutional rights and could cause them irreparable harm.
“Indeed, 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 stated in a 79-page ruling.
The judge said she would stay the preliminary injunction until March 21 to allow the administration time to appeal.
Reyes stated that the plaintiffs’ service records showed that “transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence,” a point she said the administration has also acknowledged.
“Plaintiffs, they acknowledge, have ‘made America safer.’ So why discharge them and other decorated soldiers? Crickets from Defendants on this key question,” the judge said.
Jennifer Levi, an attorney with GLAD Law representing the plaintiffs, praised the court’s ruling as decisive, saying that it speaks volumes about the administration’s military reforms, which have impacted transgender-identifying personnel in particular.
“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,” Levi said in a statement. “Given the Court’s clear-eyed assessment, we are confident this ruling will stand strong on appeal.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The plaintiffs—comprising 20 active-duty service members and transgender-identifying persons seeking to enlist—filed their lawsuit on Jan. 28, alleging that the administration’s move to exclude transgender persons from military service is unconstitutional, and that Trump’s executive order “violates the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment.”
