Welp, looks like Donald Trump’s attempt to ban transgender persons from the military just got smacked down harder than a bad wig in a wind tunnel. A federal judge has officially put the brakes on his executive order, saying, in legal terms, “Oh, absolutely not.”
Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee and apparent wielder of the judicial smackdown, ruled that Trump’s ban is likely very, very illegal—mostly because it violates that little thing called the Constitution. You know, the one we’re supposed to follow.
According to CNN, Reyes did not hold back, writing that the ban is “soaked in animus and dripping with pretext,” which is basically lawyer-speak for “this is a steaming pile of nonsense.” She added that the policy is so offensive and baseless that it might as well have been drafted in crayon.
The military itself was just as confused. After Trump’s executive order was signed on January 27, the military announced on February 11 that transgender people were no longer welcome. Shortly after, they started talking about kicking out the ones who were already there. Because, apparently, if someone’s been serving honorably for years, the best thing to do is… fire them? Brilliant strategy, truly.
But wait, it gets better. Reuters reports that out of the 1.3 million active-duty personnel, officials insist there are only a “low thousand” transgender service members. Trans rights advocates, on the other hand, say the number is closer to 15,000. So basically, either the government is really bad at counting, or someone’s straight-up lying.
Either way, the court just sent Trump’s ban packing. And for now, transgender service members can go back to what they do best: serving their country.
Moral of the story? Don’t make bad policies soaked in nonsense, because eventually, a judge will come along and dunk on you.
