Hegseth says Pentagon appealing block on Trump transgender military ban

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is appealing a block on an executive order from President Trump effectively preventing transgender people from serving openly in the military.

“We are appealing this decision, and we will win,” Hegseth said in a Wednesday evening post on the social platform X.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes stopped Hegseth and other military officials from putting the president’s order in place or otherwise implementing new policy effectuating it. Reyes also said the military statuses of the plaintiffs could not be changed until further order of the court.

“We are not surprised to hear the military intends to appeal. We are very confident in the Court’s ruling. All the evidence in the case shows that transgender people are meeting standards and making tremendous contributions to ensure the security of the nation,” Jennifer Levi, an attorney for plaintiffs in the case, said in an email to The Hill.

According to Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden, her order intended to keep military policy “status quo” regarding transgender service members that existed prior to the president signing the “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.” The judge also stayed her order until Friday to allow the Trump administration time to appeal.

“The Court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals,” Reyes said in her opinion. “In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes.”

Trump’s order suggests that transgender people cannot “satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service” because they threaten the lethality of the armed forces and undermine unit cohesion, an argument long used to keep marginalized communities from serving.

“A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,” the executive order states.

The Hill has reached out to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for comment.

“The evidence before the court—including the government’s own records and studies--showed that transgender troops have been serving honorably and effectively,” National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter, another plaintiff attorney, said in a statement emailed to The Hill

“The government had an opportunity to make its case and was unable to provide even a shred of evidence to show any problems with transgender service or to support its abrupt decision to reverse course and suddenly exclude service members who are meeting and exceeding standards.”

Updated on March 20 at 5:27 a.m. EDT

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