Judge demands proof from Trump administration in lawsuit over trans military ban

President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are under the gun by a federal judge to prove their claims about transgender soldiers in the military.

In a court filing last week, the government claimed "any service member or recruit who has been diagnosed with or treated for gender dysphoria is disqualified from serving — unless they can prove they meet a specific warfighting need and adhere to severe restrictions on their day-to-day behavior," reported the Associated Press.

However, on Thursday, Judge Ana Reyes sent the government a list of questions that they must answer by 10 a.m. Saturday to justify the executive order.

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Legal analyst Andrew Torrez pointed out that the "DOJ has argued that Trump's EO is not arbitrary and capricious because the DOJ 'reviewed evidence' showing that gender dysphoria 'imposes an unreasonable burden on the military.'"

Reyes now wants to know what that evidence is, among other things.

Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney posted the list of eight questions from the judge, which includes demands for the total defense budget from 2015 to 2024. Then she also asked for "total amount of spending from 2015 to 2024 on psychotherapy for all service members."

She also sought the total amount for surgical procedures for soldiers, both necessary and elective.

The list also includes "any 'mental health constraint,' other than gender dysphoria, that DoD has previously found to be inconsistent with 'honesty, humility, and integrity.'"

Then, Reyes asks the DOJ to provide the number of transgender soldiers in the U.S. military.

Torrez commented that the reasons are "obvious."

"Every piece of data for which Judge Reyes has ordered the disclosure is going to be de minimis in comparison to (1) - the total overall spend, showing that targeting trans servicemembers fails the low bar of being not 'arbitrary and capricious.'"

"Watch for the Trump administration to spend the next two days filing illegal appeals and eventually an All Writs Act petition with the Supreme Court arguing they couldn't possibly get this data together in two days. At which point, Chief Justice Roberts will stay this order until July."

The Human Rights Campaign said that overnight the DoD released "guidance" on Trump's executive order.

Pulse Nightclub shooting survivor Brandon Wolf called the matter, "This is a total ban on transgender people serving in the military and will kick thousands of highly trained, eminently qualified servicemembers out of their jobs."