Overview

• Judge Ana Reyes questioned the Trump administration's justification for banning transgender individuals from military service, calling its policies discriminatory and unsupported by evidence.
• The executive order prohibits transgender individuals from serving, ends coverage for gender-related healthcare, and enforces policies based on sex assigned at birth.
• Reyes criticized the administration's assertion of only two sexes, pointing out biological inaccuracies and the exclusion of intersex individuals in the policy framework.
• DOJ lawyers struggled to provide evidence supporting claims that transgender inclusion harms military readiness, prompting Reyes to demand testimony from a military officer on this issue.
• Advocacy groups argue the policy violates constitutional protections, with Reyes highlighting a broader pattern of actions by the administration that she described as showing 'unadulterated animus' toward transgender Americans.