A judge already has questions about the military's new transgender ban

“A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to answer a list of questions Thursday after the Department of Defense instituted a new policy that would effectively bar transgender individuals from serving in the military.

“Late Wednesday night, attorneys for the Justice Department filed a DoD memo directing leaders at the Pentagon to begin preparations to separate service members who have a ‘current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.’”

“The military’s new policy already faces a lawsuit from six transgender service members and two hoping to join the military – as well as a skeptical judge who has described Trump’s executive order as discriminatory on its face.

“‘It calls an entire category of people dishonest, dishonorable, undisciplined, immodest, who lack integrity,’ Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee, said during a hearing last week.”

“The transgender plaintiffs in the case were scheduled to argue their motion for a preliminary injunction barring the military from kicking them out on March 12. Before then, however, Reyes gave the government some homework.

“On Thursday, she docketed a list of eight questions she wanted the administration to answer by Saturday morning.

“The questions seek information about how much the DoD has spent on gender-affirming care for service members between 2015 and 2024 and what portion of its budget that represents, as well as its most up-to-date estimate on the current number of transgender service members. Reyes also ordered the administration to identify any ‘mental health constraint’ other than gender dysphoria the military has previously found to be inconsistent with ‘ honesty, humility and integrity’ – a reference to the language in Trump’s order.”