Divided Federal Appeals Court Blocks Pentagon From Discharging Transgender Troops

A divided federal appeals court is blocking the Trump administration from removing transgender troops serving in the military but will allow restrictions on accepting new recruits while a lawsuit wends its way through the court.Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the ban last year after President Trump issued an executive order stating transgenders were unfit for military service and could affect combat readiness.A group of active-duty transgender service members and transgender individuals who want to enlist sued over the policy. Federal District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction last year blocking the policy and the administration appealed.A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 on Monday that the ban had no reasonable justification, but it separated the part of the injunction that allowed transgender recruits to enlist.Judge Robert Wilkins — a President Obama appointee — stated in the ruling that the ban “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender.” He was joined in part by Judge Judith Rogers — a President Clinton appointee. Judge Rogers joined in a partial dissent with an appointee of Mr. Trump, Judge Justin Walker, that keeps the ban in place on new recruits.Judge Walker wrote in his dissent that the courts should not question the executive order. “We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks,” Judge Walker stated. “The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief.”The legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Shannon Minter, was the lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “It’s the most narrow ground that the court could have ruled on,” Ms. Minter told gay news site the Advocate. “It avoids the question of whether heightened scrutiny applies either to sex discrimination or transgender discrimination. So the court is saying that even if there is no heightened scrutiny here this is a policy just so clearly based on animus.”The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, which has already ruled in the president’s favor in another case involving the ban. Several other cases remain in progress in lower courts.The plaintiffs have already asked Judge Reyes to certify the case as a class action lawsuit to expand the impact of the decision beyond the original plaintiffs. The ruling came on the first day of Pride Month, which has been celebrated federally since President Clinton’s official proclamation in 1999.The Defense Department spent approximately $15 million between 2016 and 2021 to provide gender-affirming care to 1,892 active duty servicemembers according to the Congressional Research Service. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Divided Federal Appeals Court Blocks Pentagon From Discharging Transgender Troops

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