Judge makes shock last-minute decision on Trumps effort to ban trans soldiers from military

A Biden-appointed judge has once again prevented the Trump administrations ban on transgender soldiers from going into effect.

Washington DC-based US District Judge Ana Reyes ruled Wednesday against the governments motion to lift her court order that blocks the military from denying transgender people the right to enlist - which was set to go into effect on Friday, Fox News reports.

Her 16-page decision came just days after she presided over a hearing in which she requested the Department of Defense delay its original March 26 deadline to enact the policy, which would have affected up to 4,200 service members who experience gender dysphoria, amid an ongoing federal lawsuit.

The defendants in the case - including President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth - then filed a motion to dissolve her injunction. 

They argued in court documents that the policy set forth under one of the presidents executive orders is not an overarching ban on transgender troops - but rather turns on gender dysphoria- a medical condition- and does not discriminate against trans-identifying persons as a class, according to Fox.

The Trump administration cited new Department of Justice guidance, which clarifies that the phrase "exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria" applies only to individuals who exhibit such symptoms as would be sufficient to constitute a diagnosis.

If their motion to dissolve the court order were to be denied, the Trump administration asked the judge to at least stay the preliminary injunction pending an appeal - and the Department of Justice has already filed a notice of appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

But Reyes dismissed the governments claims in her decision on Wednesday.

Washington DC-based US District Judge Ana Reyes ruled Wednesday against the governments motion to lift her court order that blocks the military from denying transgender people the right to enlist

The policy was set forth under one of President Donald Trumps executive orders

Defendants re-emphasize their "consistent position that the [Hegseth] Policy is concerned with the military readiness, deployability and costs associated with a medical condition, she argued. 

Regulating gender dysphoria is no different than regulating bipolar disorder, eating disorders or suicidality, the judge said of the defendants claims. 

The Military Ban regulates a medical condition, they insist, not people. And therein lies the problem.

Gender dysphoria is not like other medical conditions, something Defendants well know, Reyes argued.

It affects only one group of people: all persons with gender dysphoria are transgender and only transgender persons experience gender dysphoria, she said, finding the policy to be discriminatory in both effect and intent.

The judge also added that the proposal would treat transgender soldiers more harshly than those with other conditions, reiterating her argument for issuing the injunction blocking the Pentagon from enforcing the ban. 

She said at the time that the ban invokes derogatory language to target a vulnerable group in violation of the Fifth Amendment and is unabashedly demeaning to trans people.

But her Wednesday ruling went even further as she tore apart the Pentagons proposed implementation of the plan, according to Advocate Magazine. 

The Department of Defense, headed by Secretary Pete Hegseth, sought to dissolve her court order - citing its new guidelines to clarify some of its language

It would require all 1.3 million active-duty troops to self-report annually whether they ever had, currently have or exhibit symptoms of gender dysphoria 

Those that affirm that they do have, or once had, symptoms would then be flagged as nondeployable and recommended for discharge.

Such a policy, Reyes said, would be akin to rummaging through private medical records. 

She is now giving the Trump administration time to appeal.

In the meantime, the federal government has said it is encouraging transgender troops to voluntarily separate with a generous severance package.

Those troops have already reported that they were forced to revert to the grooming standards and pronouns of their birth sex after Trump took office

Some also claim to have been passed over for promotions, placed on administrative leave and denied medical care.

There are now as many as 4,200 service members across all fields who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria

Members of LGBT+ community have protested what they claim is the Trump administrations attack on transgender people

There are now as many as 4,200 service members across all fields who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Between 2014 and 2025, an estimated 1,000 service members have received gender-affirming surgery.  

Lawyer representing the service members Shannon Minter told the New York Times: Their lives and careers are completely disrupted.

Thats why getting them immediate relief is so important.