A federal judge ruled that President Trump’s executive order barring military service by openly transgender individuals likely violates the constitution.
The order came down on Monday from a District Court in Washington. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked implementation of the President’s directive, which was first issued via a series of tweets in July.
Plaintiffs against the administration included transgender individuals currently serving in the military who argued their career, family, and in some cases, medical care were put in jeopardy by the ban. They had argued that the President’s order strips them of their due process rights.
“The Court holds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their Fifth Amendment claim,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her ruling. She cited “a number of factors—including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself.”
Trump surprised his military officials in July when he announced on Twitter that he would reverse a policy implemented during the Obama administration that allowed transgender individuals to serve openly in the military.
He formalized his Twitter directives in an executive order issued a month later. It requires the Pentagon to submit a plan for how it intends to enforce the transgender service ban by February 2018.
The government argued that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which issued the ruling, didn’t have jurisdiction, since the President’s order doesn’t actually amount to a definitive policy change.
“These arguments, while perhaps compelling in the abstract, wither away under scrutiny,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly stated. She noted that there is “no reason to believe” that Trump’s directive won’t be “executed.”
Despite Monday’s ruling, transgender Americans are still currently blocked from enlisting in the military. In June, Defense Secretary Mattis delayed accepting transgender applicants until the start of 2018.
Under a directive from previous Pentagon chief Ashton carter, transgender individuals would have been allowed to begin enlisting on July 1 of this year.
