A federal judge in New Jersey temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing two U.S. Air Force transgender service members stemming from an executive order issued in January by President Donald Trump that spurred a policy change at the Pentagon.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Christine O'Hearn, a Joe Biden appointee, is another setback for the Trump administration's efforts to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, also appointed by Biden, in Washington, D.C., last week temporarily blocked the Pentagon from enforcing Trump's executive order on Jan. 27 barring transgender individuals from military service while a lawsuit by 20 current and prospective service members challenging the measure goes forward.
"This is the latest example of an activist judge attempting to seize power at the expense of the American people who overwhelmingly voted to elect President Trump," a Department of Justice spokesperson told Newsmax on Tuesday. "The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump's executive actions, including the Defending Women Executive Order [issued Jan. 20], and will continue to do so."
Trump's executive order stated that "expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life."
The Pentagon issued a memo Feb. 26 directing military leadership to begin identifying transgender service members within 30 days and initiating "separation actions" within 60 days.
The case in New Jersey involved a lawsuit filed March 17 by Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, 37, and Staff Sgt. Nicholas Bade, 44, biological women who medically transitioned to be men; Ireland in 2012 while serving in the Air Force and Bade in 2015 before he enlisted, according to their lawsuit.
They argued that Trump's executive order subjects them "to unequal, harmful, and demeaning treatment." The plaintiffs claimed they were forced into administrative absence and told they could continue to serve only if they did so as women.
"Plaintiffs face severe personal and professional harm absent a preliminary injunction," O'Hearn wrote in her eight-page decision. "In contrast, Defendants have not demonstrated any compelling justification whatsoever for immediate implementation of the Orders, particularly since transgender persons have been openly serving in the military for a number of years.
"Additionally, granting temporary relief is in the public interest, as it prevents unconstitutional discrimination and maintains the status quo of policies that have now governed the military for years."
O'Hearn also rejected the administration's argument that a temporary injunction is unnecessary because of the injunction issued by Reyes.
"The existence of another court's preliminary injunction — especially one subject to ongoing challenge — is no basis to deny Plaintiffs the emergency relief they independently merit," O'Hearn wrote.
"We are relieved that the court intervened today to ensure Staff Sgt. Bade and Master Sgt. Ireland do not face further devastating damage to their reputations and military careers or the very real prospect of involuntary separation from the military they've faithfully served while the challenge to the ban moves forward in the D.C. federal district court," Jennifer Levi, an attorney for Ireland and Bade and senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law, said in a news release.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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