A far-left activist judge appointed by Joe Biden has blocked President Trump’s effort to restore common sense and military readiness by prohibiting transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
This ruling, issued by Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, flies in the face of executive authority and national security priorities.
Judge Reyes granted a preliminary injunction in Nicolas Talbott, et al. v. United States, et al., blocking the Trump administration’s Executive Order 14183 and the policy enacted by Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth.
The order, which stated that military service by transgender individuals is “inconsistent” with military readiness and unit cohesion, was challenged by a group of transgender service members. They argued that the policy violates their constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment.
In January, President Trump signed the “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” executive order and the “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” executive orders, which direct every element of the U.S. military to “operate free from any preference based on race or sex” and root out gender insanity and made up pronoun usage, respectively.
The judge found that the policy, implemented without consultation with military leaders or supporting evidence, relied on “derogatory language” and “pure conjecture.”
“The President issued EO14183 within seven days of taking office, and Secretary Hegseth issued the Policy thirty days later. There is no evidence that they consulted with uniformed military leaders before doing so. Neither document contains any analysis nor cites any data,” Reyes wrote.
Reyes noted that transgender service members have been serving openly since 2021 without documented issues.
“Transgender persons have served openly since 2021, but Defendants have not analyzed their service. That is unfortunate. Plaintiffs’ service records alone are Exhibit A for the proposition that transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence.”
The court highlighted that plaintiffs in the case—transgender troops with over 130 years of combined military experience and dozens of commendations, including Bronze Stars—had been deemed fit to serve by the Department of Defense.
“Together they have provided over 130 years of military service. They have served in roles ranging from Senior Military Science Instructor to Artillery Platoon Commander to Intelligence Analyst to Satellite Operator to Operations Research Analyst to Naval Flight Officer to Weapons Officer. They have deployed around the globe, from Afghanistan to Poland to Korea to Iraq to Kuwait to the USS Ronald Reagan and USS George W. Bush. One is presently deployed to an active combat zone. They have earned more than 80 commendations including: a Bronze Star; two Global War on Terrorism Service Medals; two Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medals; numerous Meritorious Service Medals; numerous Commendation Medals; Air and Space Outstanding Unit Awards; and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, among many others.”
Her ruling hinges on a flimsy Fifth Amendment claim, alleging the ban violates equal protection by targeting transgender troops with “animus.”
“The Military Ban is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext. Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact. Thus, even if the Court analyzed the Military Ban under rational basis review, it would fail.”
Reyes waxes poetic about “all people are created equal,” twisting the Declaration of Independence into a battering ram against military discipline.
“The Court’s opinion is long, but its premise is simple. In the self-evident truth that “all people are created equal,”5 all means all. Nothing more. And certainly nothing less,” she wrote.
“The President has the power—indeed the obligation—to ensure military readiness. At times, however, leaders have used concern for military readiness to deny marginalized persons the privilege of serving.”
“First minorities, then women in combat, then gays filled in that blank. Today, however, our military is stronger and our Nation is safer for the millions of such blanks (and all other persons) who serve,” Reyes wrote in her opinion.
The injunction is stayed until March 21, 2025, allowing the Trump administration time to seek an emergency appeal.
This is a developing story.
Read the ruling below:
It can be recalled last month, Judge Ana Reyes grilled DOJ lawyers and said that Trump’s executive order asserting there are only two genders is “not biologically correct.”
“With the DOD policy expected to be finalized over the coming week, Reyes said she would hold off on issuing an order but had largely made up her mind about the legality of the order, at one point remarking that “smarter people on the D.C. Circuit would have to tell me I’m wrong” about the policy. She added that the central premise of the executive order — that only two genders exist — is “not biologically correct.”” – ABC News reported.
Then last week, the activist judge blasted the DOJ lawyers and asked them if they knew how much the military spends on Viagra every year compared to gender dysphoria treatment.
She noted that transgender medical care accounts for only 0.00057% of the military budget—far less than what the Pentagon spends on Viagra.
She then ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a written retraction over a transgender troops article he posted on X.
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