WASHINGTON: A US federal judge Monday cleared the way for transgender people to join the military from Jan 1, denying a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to delay the move.
The ruling will be seen as a blow to Trump, who in July sent out three tweets saying that transgender troops could not serve ‘in any capacity’, citing ‘tremendous’ medical costs and disruption.
Those messages, later followed by a formal White House memorandum, set off a roar of protest — with several service members and rights groups quick to sue. Already two federal courts have ruled against Trump’s proposed ban.
Under a new policy first announced when Barack Obama was still in power, the Pentagon was supposed to start accepting transgender recruits on July 1 this year, but Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis pushed that back by six months to Jan 1 pending further review.
Then last week, the Justice Department asked a federal court to further delay the January start date while the legal battle plays out.
But US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled Monday that the government had not shown it would be ‘irreparably harmed’if the military begins to accept transgender men and women on Jan 1. — AFP