Radical Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Military Transgender Ban - But There's a Problem

Another day, another activist judge. This time it's Judge Ana Reyes, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who has issued a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration's new rules on transgender individuals serving in the armed forces.

There's a problem, though; the injunction relies on objectively false information and independent "research" done by Judge Reyes. Civil liberties attorney Laura Powell has details.

BREAKING: Judge Ana Reyes grants a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Defense’s new policies that limit the ability of transgender people to serve in the military. The order is accompanied by a 79-page (!) memorandum opinion. pic.twitter.com/8e6hn17I1V
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) March 18, 2025

Laura Powell's X post reads in full:

BREAKING: Judge Ana Reyes grants a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Defense’s new policies that limit the ability of transgender people to serve in the military. The order is accompanied by a 79-page (!) memorandum opinion.

According to Ms. Powell, the judge not only relied on bad information, but she broke the rules.

Judge Reyes’s opinion relies in part on her independent research into disorders of sexual development (DSD), which is not part of the record. Judges are not allowed to do this.

Not surprisingly, her information is wrong. For example, she cites the erroneous figure that 1.7% of… pic.twitter.com/gkPtA7jPUv
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) March 18, 2025

Judge Reyes’s opinion relies in part on her independent research into disorders of sexual development (DSD), which is not part of the record. Judges are not allowed to do this.
Not surprisingly, her information is wrong. For example, she cites the erroneous figure that 1.7% of Americans are intersex.
She also makes assertions about where people with DSDs would be housed, based on no evidence whatsoever. (She asked the DOJ attorney the answer to that question, and he said he did not know.) This case has nothing to do with people with DSDs, many of whom were banned from serving in the military for years after the ban on trans people was lifted, which was never challenged.

While I'm not an attorney, this seems like the textbook definition of a bad decision, one that should be overturned on procedural grounds if nothing else.

Woke Middle Ages? University Trumpets the Transgenderism of Medieval Times

And there's plenty of "else" when you consider this decision. Article 2 of the Constitution gives the president, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, broad power:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

Part of that responsibility is to ensure the readiness of those armed forces - and allowing "transgender" individuals to serve in the armed forces in no way enhances readiness. Indeed, it places logistical burdens on the military, due to the necessity of ongoing medical treatments that people undergoing transgender surgeries and therapies.

The armed forces are not a jobs program. They are necessary for the survival of a free nation, and in recruiting service members, readiness should be - must be - the only consideration. Any service member must stand ready to close with and destroy the enemy by fire, maneuver, and shock effect.

This decision is wrong, not only legally but in essence. It will doubtlessly be appealed, and if there is any sanity left in the legal system, overturned.

If it's not activist judges, it's activist liberal media! Help RedState continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration's accomplishments as we continue to usher in the Golden Era of America. Join RedState’s VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership today.