Legal setback for Trump: Judge blocks transgender military ban for second time in two weeks

Tacoma: A federal judge in Washington state has blocked the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military. This marks the second nationwide injunction against the policy in just two weeks.

The ruling, issued on Thursday by US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by several long-serving transgender military members who argue that the ban is discriminatory and harmful to their careers and reputations. These service members contend that their removal from the military would cause irreparable damage to their professional futures.

Judge Settle’s 65-page decision criticises the government’s lack of evidence to justify the ban. Settle, a former US Army officer and appointee of President George W. Bush, noted that transgender individuals had been serving openly for four years without any significant issues, and questioned why they should suddenly be banned. "The government's arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record," Settle wrote.

 "The government's unrelenting reliance on deference to military judgment is unjustified in the absence of any evidence supporting the military's new judgment reflected in the Military Ban," he stated.

Other rulings

Last week, US District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington DC also issued a similar order blocking the policy, though she temporarily put her ruling on hold pending the government's appeal. Meanwhile, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia informed the parties on Thursday that it would consider enforcing the ruling if any actions negatively impact transgender service members.

In a narrower ruling earlier this week, a New Jersey judge blocked the Air Force from discharging two transgender men, citing the irreparable damage to their careers and reputations.

Trump’s executive order, signed on January 27, argued that the sexual identity of transgender service members was incompatible with military life and readiness, claiming it interfered with a soldier’s commitment to an "honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle". In response, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced a policy that generally disqualified transgender people from military service.

Following the legal challenges, Sasha Buchert, an attorney with civil rights law firm Lambda Legal, pointed out the absurdity of the ban: "They can do the right number of pull-ups. They can do the right amount of push-ups. They can shoot straight. Yet, they’re being told they have to leave the military simply because of who they are."

The case in Tacoma is being led by Gender Justice League, which includes transgender military members among its ranks, along with several individual service members. One of the plaintiffs is US Navy Cmdr. Emily “Hawking” Shilling, a 42-year-old woman who has served for over 19 years, including 60 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his ruling, Judge Settle highlighted her case, emphasising that there was no evidence to suggest she was a detriment to military readiness or cohesion.

"There is no claim and no evidence that she is now, or ever was, a detriment to her unit's cohesion, or to the military's lethality or readiness, or that she is mentally or physically unable to continue her service," Settle wrote, adding that without an injunction, Shilling would be discharged solely because she is transgender.

During court arguments on Monday, Justice Department lawyer Jason Lynch argued that the president was entitled to deference in military matters and suggested the ban was not as broad as the plaintiffs claimed. However, Judge Settle pressed Lynch on the lack of evidence that the open service of transgender troops had impacted military readiness.

US military

Transgender service members make up less than 1% of the total active-duty military population. In 2016, the Department of Defence under the Obama administration introduced a policy allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the military.

However, Trump reversed this policy during his first term, issuing an executive order to ban transgender service members, with exceptions for some who had already begun transitioning under the previous rules.

The US Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect, but President Joe Biden rescinded it after taking office. The current policy under Defence Secretary Hegseth does not include any such exceptions.