WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration's request to delay an order requiring the military to begin accepting transgender recruits starting Jan. 1 saying the argument for more time seemed based on "vague claims."
"The Court is not persuaded that Defendants will be irreparably injured by" meeting the New Year's Day deadline, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
The ruling from Kollar-Kotelly of the District of Columbia follows her earlier opinion blocking the president's ban on military recruitment of transgender men and women that possibly would have forced the dismissal of current service members starting in March.
"With only a brief hiatus, Defendants have had the opportunity to prepare for the accession of transgender individuals into the military for nearly one and a half years," when the policy was initially issued in June 2016, she wrote. "Especially in light of the record evidence showing, with specifics, that considerable work has already been done, the Court is not convinced by the vague claims in [the government's] declaration that a stay is needed.
A second federal judge in Baltimore also issued a preliminary injunction in November that goes further in preventing the administration from denying funding for sex-reassignment surgeries after the order takes effect.
Justice Department spokeswoman Lauren Ehrsam said, "We disagree with the Courts ruling and are currently evaluating the next steps. Plaintiffs' lawsuit challenging military service requirements is premature for many reasons, including that the Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the President ordered, and because none of the Plaintiffs have established that they will be impacted by current policies on military service."
In July, President Donald Trump surprised military leaders and members of Congress when he announced the proposal in a series of tweets. Trump's order reversed an Obama-era policy allowing transgender men and women to serve openly and to receive funding for sex-reassignment surgery.
In October, Kollar-Kotelly found challengers likely to prevail in asserting that the president's order violates equal-protection guarantees in the Constitution. The administration has appealed the ruling, and in the meantime asked the judge to temporarily postpone the recruitment requirement until the case is resolved.
Forcing the military to accept transgender applicants and implement such a significant change in policy may "negatively impact military readiness," government lawyers said in asking for the delay.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said in court filings that the military had already been preparing to accept transgender recruits. Before the change in administration, the Defense Department was gearing up to accept transgender applicants starting in July 2017 and had started training and other preparations.
"The government cannot credibly claim that it will be irreparably harmed by implementing a policy that it was on track to implement almost six months ago," according to the filing from the plaintiffs.