A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration over its reimposed policy barring transgender Americans from serving in the U.S. military. At the same time, the appeals panel chided the lower federal district court judge appointed by Joe Biden over her ruling against the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn our view, the court afforded insufficient deference to the Secretary\u2019s considered judgment. Accordingly, we stay the preliminary injunction pending the government\u2019s appeal,\u201d the three-judge DC Circuit Court of Appeals said, scolding Judge Ana Reyes in a 2-1 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe United States military enforces strict medical standards to ensure that only physically and mentally fit individuals join its ranks. For decades, these requirements barred service by individuals with gender dysphoria, a medical condition associated with clinically significant distress,\u201d wrote Judge Gregory G. Katsas, a Trump appointee, in the majority opinion which was enjoined by Judge Neomi Jehangir Rao, another Trump appointee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 2025 policy generally bars individuals with gender dysphoria from serving in the Armed Forces. The Secretary of Defense concluded that this policy would advance important military interests of combat readiness, unit cohesion, and cost control. In doing so, he consulted materials compiled to assess the 2016 and 2018 policy changes, as well as more recent studies regarding the impacts of gender dysphoria on those with the condition and on their military service. The district court nonetheless preliminarily enjoined the 2025 policy based on its own contrary assessment of the evidence,\u201d said the ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders \u2014 the \u201cRestoring America\u2019s Fighting Force\u201d order and the \u201cPrioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness\u201d order \u2014 directing the U.S. military to eliminate the use of race- or sex-based preferences in its operations and personnel policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The orders also instruct the Department of War to review internal practices related to gender identity and pronoun usage as part of a broader assessment of military standards and readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration revised its policy regarding service members with gender dysphoria and asked Judge Reyes to lift her earlier preliminary injunction blocking implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearing, Reyes sharply questioned Justice Department attorneys, at one point asking whether they were aware of how military spending on Viagra compared to the costs associated with gender dysphoria treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hegseth took to the X platform in March to shred Reyes\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince \u2018Judge\u2019 Reyes is now a top military planner, she\/they can report to Fort Benning at 0600 to instruct our Army Rangers on how to execute High Value Target Raids\u2026after that, Commander Reyes can dispatch to Fort Bragg to train our Green Berets on counterinsurgency warfare,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n