Judge temporarily halts Trump's removal of transgender service members

A federal judge in New Jersey has issued a temporary ban on the removal of two transgender men from the Air Force, following a similar ruling last week from a judge in Washington.

US district judge Christine O'Hearn after a hearing on Monday said the pair have shown their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations. 

She issued a two-week ban on the enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from military service.

O'Hearn found that Master Sgt Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt Nicholas Bear Bade are likely to prevail on equal protection grounds by showing they have been singled out due to their sex and the defendants cannot justify the differential treatment.

"The loss of military service under the stigma of a policy that targets gender identity is not merely a loss of employment; it is a profound disruption of personal dignity, medical continuity, and public service," O'Hearn wrote in an order granting a 14-day restraining order.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment on the ruling.

Both men have already been put on administrative leave, Ireland from a training programme at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Bade from a deployment in Kuwait, the order said.

Ireland has more than 14 years of service, with deployments in Afghanistan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, while Bade has served for more than six years. Both men have won numerous awards and medals, according to court files.

"Plaintiffs' involuntary loss of decorated military status, military healthcare, and the ability to serve their country under a policy they have faithfully abided by for years cannot be repaired by monetary damages," said O'Hearn, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.

On January 27, Trump signed an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life" and is harmful to military readiness.