Federal court warns Pentagon not to act against transgender service members during appeal

The Trump administration was warned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Thursday to not act against transgender military members while a federal judge’s order to block a ban on them was being appealed.

The Department of Defense (DOD) led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, filed a notice to appeal Washington, D.C.-based U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes’ denial of their motion to dissolve her order that prevents the military from denying transgender people the ability to enlist in the military on Wednesday.

The Biden-appointed judge presided over a hearing on March 21, when she requested the DOD delay its original deadline to enact the policy on March 26.

On March 21, the defendants in the suit, who include President Donald Trump and Hegseth, filed a motion to dissolve the injunction blocking the Pentagon’s ban. The filing argued that the policy is not an overarching ban but instead “turns on gender dysphoria – a medical condition – and does not discriminate against trans-identifying persons as a class.”

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The Trump administration further requested that, if the motion to dissolve is denied, the court should stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal.

Reyes denied the motion to dissolve, and the Trump administration filed an appeal.

On Thursday, the D.C. Circuit said the purpose of the administrative stay is to give the court enough opportunity to consider the emergency motion for stay while under appeal.

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The court added that the stay should not be construed as a ruling on the merits of the motion.

“If any action occurs that negatively impacts service members under the Hegseth Policy and [Military Department Identification (MDI) Guidance] before the court lifts the administrative stay, the plaintiffs may file a motion to lift the administrative stay, and the court will consider it expeditiously,” the court wrote.

It added that appellees have until noon on April 1 to file a response.

The government cited new guidance issued March 21 that it expected to enact the policy if not for the ongoing litigation. The guidance clarified that “the phrase ‘exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria’” solely applies to “individuals who exhibit such symptoms as would be sufficient to constitute a diagnosis.”

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Reyes said she wanted to allow more time for the appeals process. She also said she had previously allowed plenty of time to appeal her earlier opinion blocking the ban from going into effect.

On Saturday, Hegseth said Reyes should report to military bases since she is “now a top military planner.” 

“Since ‘Judge’ 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…after that, Commander Reyes can dispatch to Fort Bragg to train our Green Berets on counterinsurgency warfare,” Hegseth wrote on X. 

On Wednesday, Reyes acknowledged that Military Department Identification Guidance (MIDI Guidance) is new, but the argument presented by the defense is not.

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“Defendants re-emphasize their ‘consistent position that the [Hegseth] Policy is concerned with the military readiness, deployability, and costs associated with a medical condition,’” the judge wrote. “Regulating gender dysphoria is no different than regulating bipolar disorder, eating disorders, or suicidality. 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 continued. “It affects only one group of people: all persons with gender dysphoria are transgender and only transgender persons experience gender dysphoria.”

Fox News Digital’s Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.