Another federal judge blocks Trump policy banning transgender persons in the military
The Hindu
U.S. judges block Trump's transgender military ban, citing discrimination and lasting career damage for service members.
A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military — the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks.
The order on Thursday (March 27, 2025) day from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in a case brought by several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., similarly issued an order blocking the policy last week but then put her own ruling temporarily on hold. Following further legal briefing, she declined to dissolve that injunction, which is now set to take effect Friday.
In a more limited ruling on Monday, a judge in New Jersey barred the Air Force from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order January 27 that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.
In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service.
Those challenging the policy and Trump’s executive order in Tacoma include Gender Justice League, which counts transgender troops among its members, and several transgender members of the military. Among them is U.S. Navy Cmdr. Emily “Hawking” Shilling, a 42-year-old woman who has served for more than 19 years, including 60 missions as a combat aviator in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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