A judge spent much of an hourslong hearing on Wednesday lecturing Justice Department attorneys as she weighed whether to grant an injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order on transgender service members.
Judge Ana Reyes peppered the attorneys with rhetorical questions, berated them for what she said was a gross lack of preparedness, and painstakingly reviewed studies with them about transgender people.
Reyes, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, made clear her skepticism with Trump’s order. But she occasionally also acknowledged the possibility that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might have a final say over who is eligible to serve in the military. She said she knew that her rulings, regardless of whom they favored, would be appealed in a higher court.
“I have no doubt that I am not the last step on this strange journey,” Reyes said, adding, “I just have to do the best I can with the evidence in front of me.”
During his first week in office, Trump signed an executive order requiring service members to identify as their biological sex. It also banned anyone suffering from gender dysphoria from serving in the military.
A group of active-duty transgender military members sued the administration over the order. They asked Reyes, the first openly gay federal judge in Washington, to block it from taking effect, arguing it violates the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, discriminates against them, and will cost them their careers if the court does not intervene.
Hegseth issued a memorandum on Feb. 26 directing Pentagon leadership to carry out Trump’s order.
Reyes scrutinized Hegseth’s instructions throughout the hearing, which continued into Wednesday afternoon. The judge was incredulous as she asked the government attorneys to clarify that the plaintiffs, whom she said the military had invested in training and who have presented no problems during their service, would have to be discharged because they have gender dysphoria or have “transitioned” to the opposite gender.
“I’m just supposed to say, ‘You know what, OK!’” Reyes said. She noted at one point, “We haven’t even gotten to animus yet.”
DOJ ACCUSES JUDGE OF ‘EGREGIOUS MISCONDUCT’ AFTER HEATED HEARING
This story is developing.