On Tuesday, two legal organizations that advocate for LGBTQ rights filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of six transgender service members.
The action challenges President Donald Trump’s executive order that instructs the Pentagon to change its policy toward transgender people in the military.
The complaint was brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights against the president, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other military officers.
The complaint was filed one day after Trump announced an executive order that limited military service for transgender individuals.
“Consistent with the military mission and longstanding Department of Defense policy, expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” according to the executive order.
Although Trump did not immediately prohibit transgender service members from serving in the armed forces, his executive order instructs the Pentagon to update defense doctrine based on preparedness “to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”
According to the executive order, “The pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.”
In addition, the order mandates that the Department of Defense limit medical coverage for certain transition-related services within 60 days, prohibit those designated male at birth from using women’s “sleeping, changing, or bathing facilities,” and “put an end to the use of invented and identification-based pronouns.”
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the organizations that brought the complaint, condemned the order for infringing upon constitutional protections.
“The law is very clear that the government can’t base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people. That’s animus. And animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional,” Shannon Minter, legal director for NCLR stated.
According to the Palm Center, an independent research agency, there were an estimated 14,000 transgender service members in the U.S. military in 2018.
Trump signed another executive order shortly after he was inaugurated last week. This directive recognizes only two genders: male and female.
The president also canceled an executive order that was signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021. This order permitted transgender individuals to serve in the military.
Jennifer Levi, who is the senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, stated, “This ban betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit.”
“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,” Levi continued. “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.”
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Nicholas Talbott, a second lieutenant in the Army, is one of the people who is suing in the complaint that was filed on Tuesday. According to the lawsuit, the 31-year-old transgender man was “named Honor Graduate at basic combat training by his drill sergeants for going above and beyond in training and stepping up to leadership roles.”
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“Every individual must meet the same objective and rigorous qualifications in order to serve,” Talbott stated.
“It has been my dream and my goal to serve my country for as long as I can remember. My being transgender has no bearing on my dedication to the mission, my commitment to my unit or my ability to perform my duties in accordance with the high standards expected of me and every service member.”
The Pentagon has stated that it intends to “fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency and in alignment with national security objectives.”
However, the White House has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
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