Transgender soldiers file lawsuit challenging Trump’s military ban

Some Transgender soldiers have filed lawsuits challenging US president Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people from serving in the US Military.

In addition to the executive order restricting military service for trans people, Trump issued an executive order hours after his inauguration targeting “gender ideology.” The order declared that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that “these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” resulting in the State Department freezing all passport applications requesting a sex-marker change.

Two national LGBTQ legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, January 28 on behalf of six active duty trans service members and two trans people seeking to enlist.

“This ban betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit,” Jennifer Levi, the senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), said in a statement. “It slams the door on qualified patriots who meet every standard and want nothing more than to serve their country, simply to appease a political agenda. That’s not just un-American, it makes our country weaker by pushing away talented service members who put their lives on the line every day for our nation.”

GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed the lawsuit against Trump and several military officials in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia one day after the president signed an executive order restricting transgender military service.

The order, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” reinstates a policy from Trump’s first term and rescinds a 2021 order by then-President Joe Biden that allowed trans people to enlist and serve openly.