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A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of United States President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from military service.
Ana Reyes, US district judge, made the ruling on Tuesday, the latest in a string of legal setbacks for Trump’s sweeping agenda.
Reyes was the second judge to block the order in one day.
Both rulings came within a few hours of each other as Trump sought to stir impeachment proceedings against a third judge who temporarily suspended deportation flights.
“The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote in her ruling.
“We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”
Reyes said she did not take lightly her decision to issue an injunction blocking Trump’s order, noting: “Judicial overreach is no less pernicious than executive overreach.”
She said it was also the responsibility of each branch of government to provide checks and balances for the others, and the court “therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day”.
Immediately after taking office, Trump ordered that all US government staff working on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes were to be put on immediate paid administrative leave.
Trump said the programmes were “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral”.
The order would affect transgender people in the military service as well.
As part of the order, the US army announced last month that it would no longer accept applications from transgender individuals.
During his first term in 2017, Trump issued an order stating that transgender people had no place in the US army.
Joe Biden, his successor, reversed the order.
