D.C. Federal District Court Judge Confirms Injunction in Doe v. Trump Remains in Place Pending Resolution of Appeals Process

Washington, D.C.— D.C. Federal District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly today confirmed that the preliminary injunction she ordered blocking implementation of Trump’s transgender military ban remains in place pending full resolution of the appeals process in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling rebukes the Trump administration’s claim that it is free to move forward with enforcement of Trump’s ban with no further legal barriers.

“The Trump administration cannot circumvent the judicial process just to fast track its baseless, unfair ban on transgender servicemembers,” said GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi. “The dedicated transgender troops who show up every day to do their duty and serve their country deserve justice, and that includes requiring this administration to follow the ordinary rules of judicial process.”

National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Legal Director Shannon Minter explained, “Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling today makes crystal clear that her order enjoining the ban from going into effect remains in place.  As a result, the government may not take any steps to institute a ban on transgender troops.”

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a January 4 unsigned ruling that the district court erred in concluding that there was no difference between the ban President Trump announced in August 2017 and the recommended policy Secretary Mattis issued in February 2018. However, the D.C. Circuit also issued an order that its decision would not become final until the appeals process had fully run its course. Plaintiffs still have time to seek rehearing of the panel decision and, as a result, the appeals process has not concluded. Today’s notice issued by Judge Kollar-Kotelly stated that the Trump administration may not take steps to change the status quo while the preliminary injunction remains in place.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the first preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s transgender military ban in October 2017 in Doe v. Trump. NCLR and GLAD have been at the center of the legal fight challenging the ban since filing Doe on August 9, 2017.

For more information, go to GLAD and NCLR’s website outlining the history and status of the Trump-Pence transgender military ban, notransmilitaryban.org.