Federal judge rejects ban on transgender troops

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration's request to ban most transgender troops from the armed forces while it appeals her order allowing them to remain, and said the president's claim that their service undermines military effectiveness has been repudiated by some of his own military leaders.

In fact, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle ruled Friday, refusing to implement the transgender ban promotes a ``strong national defense'' by allowing ``skilled and qualified service members to continue to serve their country.''

President Trump first announced the proposed ban in a series of tweets in July, saying it was based on consultations with ``my generals and military experts.'' His executive order reversed an order by former President Barack Obama that allowed transgender troops to serve openly as of June 2016.

Four federal judges from various states, including Pechman, quickly issued injunctions that blocked Trump's order from taking effect, saying it was discriminatory and failed to justify exclusion of troops who had been found fit for service. In March, the president announced a revised order that would still bar most transgender troops but allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to retain service members who had been serving openly under the Obama policy.

Pechman blocked the new policy in April, saying it was essentially the same as the old one, and the other three judges did so as well. While appealing her decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Justice Department lawyers requested a stay that would allow the ban to take effect.

The injunction forces the military ``to adhere to a policy it has concluded poses substantial risks,'' government lawyers told Pechman. But the judge said Friday that the Army's chief of staff, Gen. Mark Milley, had told the Senate Armed Services Committee he had received ``precisely zero'' reports of any such problems with transgender troops.