Judge blocks Trump from barring transgender people from the military

A federal judge in Washington on Monday temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s decision to bar transgender people from joining the U.S. military.

In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction against Trump’s decision, saying the plaintiffs in the case are likely to succeed in their argument that it violates their due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. Kollar-Kotelly was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton. 

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All five plaintiffs — a Coast Guardsmen, three soldiers and an airman with nearly 60 years of combined service — are identified as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit. They said they want to remain anonymous because they fear retribution. Some have completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawyers from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, or GLAD, are assisting the plaintiffs. 

The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.