(19 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Akron, Ohio – 18 March 2025
++STARTS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
1. SOUNDBITE (English) 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott, U.S. Army Reserves:
++VIDEO CALL++
"This ruling for me, personally, is a huge sigh of relief. This is something that I have been nervous about since the announcement has been made. I spent about nine years of my adult life fighting to serve in the United States military. I was finally able to enlist about a year ago. And I completed my training and earned my commission as an officer in January of this year. So for today’s ruling to come through and show such support of our transgender service members by the courts, it has just been a tremendous weight off my shoulders. Just a huge triumph for all of us across the board."
++ENDS++
STORYLINE:
A federal judge blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday, the latest in a string of legal setbacks for his sweeping agenda.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights.
She was the second judge of the day to rule against the administration, and both rulings came within hours of an extraordinary conflict as Trump called for impeaching a third judge who temporarily blocked deportation flights, drawing a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Reyes, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, delayed her order until Friday morning to give the administration time to appeal.
"The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”
Army Reserves 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott, one of 14 transgender active-duty servicemembers named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said he was holding his breath as he waited to find out if he would be separated from the military next week.
“This is such a sigh of relief,” he said. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. This is my dream job, and I finally have it. And I was so terrified that I was about to lose it.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, posted about the ruling on social media, writing, “District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?”
The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys who also represent others seeking to join the military.
On Jan. 27, Trump signed an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.
In response to the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service.
Gender dysphoria is the distress that a person feels because their assigned gender and gender identity don’t match. The medical condition has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts.
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