Exclusive: A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order banning transgender troops from military service….. Check In

A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday.

Attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two other people hoping to join the military requested a preliminary injunction to halt Trump’s order, stating that it violates people’s right to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights.

She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal.

“The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”

The plaintiffs who sued to block Trump’s order include an Army Reserves platoon leader from Pennsylvania, an Army major who was awarded a Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan, and a Sailor of the Year award winner serving in the Navy.

Their attorneys, from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law, said transgender troops “seek nothing more than the opportunity to continue dedicating their lives to defending the Nation.”

Trump signed this executive order on Jan. 27 stating that 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.

Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively will disqualify people with gender dysphoria from military service.

During his first term, Trump issued a directive to ban transgender people from taking part in military service before President Joe Biden scrapped the order when he took office.