WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration on Tuesday appealed a court ruling from October that partially blocked the ban on transgender soldiers in the military.
The case, Doe v. Trump, was the first filed against the ban, which first surfaced in a series of tweets by the president. On October 30, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly halted the ban while it is being decided in court, reverting back to Obama era policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly.
The move comes on the same day that a second federal judge blocked Trump’s ban, writing that transgender people serving in the military have “demonstrated that they are already suffering harmful consequences.” The ruling also blocks the Trump administration from refusing to provide funding for gender confirmation surgery.
“Despite rulings from two federal judges that Trump’s transgender military ban is unconstitutional, the Trump administration is digging in its heels,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter. “Thousands of transgender Americans are serving honorably—many with decades-long careers—and are just as willing and capable as any of their peers. This attack on our dedicated service members is not just unconstitutional, it’s a disgrace.”
“Today’s filing signals that the Trump administration is more committed than ever to demeaning and stigmatizing transgender service members and transgender Americans,” said GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi. “The government filings supporting these baseless attacks read like pure fiction—and thousands of transgender Americans need and deserve for this horror story to end.”