A federal judge lifted the fourth and final injunction against the Trump administration’s policy barring most transgender individuals from serving in the military on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge George Russell III reversed his prior ruling, stating he was required to lift his order “because the court is bound by the Supreme Court’s decision” after the high court lifted two other injunctions imposed in January.
The Pentagon celebrated Russell’s decision, heralding it as the demise of the final roadblock after four injunctions were put in place in 2017 as legal challenges against the ban played out.
“The Department is pleased with the district court’s decision to stay the final injunction against the Department’s proposed policy,” the Pentagon said in a statement Thursday. “The 2016 policy will remain in effect until the Department issues further guidance, which will be forthcoming in the near future.”
Despite the Pentagon’s celebratory mood, activists said they aren’t ready to give up the fight, noting that one injunction still remains in place despite a ruling to strike it down.
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled to lift its injunction in favor of the Trump administration’s policy, writing, “the District Court made an erroneous finding that the [administration’s policy] was the equivalent of a blanket ban on transgender service.” It was decided that the injunction would remain in place for a minimum for three weeks after the court releases a final signed ruling, but that signed ruling has yet to be released as the plaintiffs in the case consider whether to ask for a rehearing by the appeals court’s full bench.
“The Trump administration keeps pushing to enforce a senseless and harmful ban,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project director. “There is no question this ban weakens our military by excluding from service transgender people who meet all of the military’s rigorous readiness and medical standards. With [the injunction] still in place, we will continue fighting this discriminatory ban.”
The policy rescinds an Obama-era policy that allowed individuals of any gender identity to serve. Trump got the ball rolling when he tweeted in 2017 that he planned to bar all transgender troops from serving in the military, and former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis unveiled the policy with some modifications in February 2018.
The policy bans most individuals who have “a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria” and who need significant medical attention such as surgery. However, transgender individuals who don’t have a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria are permitted to serve, under the condition they serve in their “biological sex.”
Late last month, transgender service members appeared before Congress and told lawmakers that transitioning has boosted military readiness. Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, who recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan where she worked as a physical therapist, said that she’s become a better soldier since her transition.
“What is the value of having transgender people in the military? Based on my experience first as a combat arms officer and medical provider, the answer is unequivocally that my transition — and so many others — has dramatically increased the readiness and lethality of every branch of the armed forces,” said Stehlik, who transitioned from male to female in 2016.
