Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Take Up Military Transgender Ban
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Take Up Military Transgender Ban
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Take Up Military Transgender Ban
CONGRESS
SUPREME COURT
2018 ELECTION RESULTS
Search »
Trump administration
asks Supreme Court to
take up military
transgender ban
By Ariane de Vogue and Joan Biskupic, CNN
Updated 1552 GMT (2352 HKT) November 24, 2018
Cupp notes Clinton's 'late' migration stance
The policy, first announced by the President in July 2017 via Twitter and later officially
released by Secretary of Defense James Mattis, blocks individuals who suffer from a
condition known as gender dysphoria from serving with limited exceptions. It also specifies
that individuals without the condition can serve but only if they do so according to the sex
they were assigned at birth.
District courts across the country have so far blocked the policy from going into effect. The
9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in one challenge earlier this fall and the DC
Circuit will hear arguments in early December.
On Friday, Solicitor General Noel Francisco filed petitions asking the justices to take up the
issue in three separate cases that are still in lower courts so it could be decided definitively
this term. Francisco argues that lower court rulings imposing nationwide injunctions are
wrong and warrant immediate review.
He writes because of the injunctions, "the military has been forced to maintain that prior
policy for nearly a year" despite a determination by Mattis and a panel of experts that the
"prior policy, adopted by (Defense Secretary Ash Carter), posed too great a risk to military
effectiveness and lethality."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed to "fight this discriminatory action" in a
statement Saturday.
"The President's ban is a cruel and arbitrary decision designed to humiliate transgender
Americans who have stepped forward to serve our country," she added. "This bigoted ban
weakens our military readiness and our country, and shows this president's stunning lack of
loyalty to those who risk all to defend our freedoms."
Earlier in the month, the Department of Justice warned the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that
it planned to ask for emergency relief to lift the nationwide injunction.
Trump calls 9th Circuit a 'big thorn in our side,' accuses judges of imperiling US security
The filing comes after Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump got into a public dispute about
the independence of the judiciary this week. Roberts issued a rare statement on
Wednesday criticizing the President for calling one lower court judge who ruled against him
an "Obama judge." The President responded via Twitter criticizing Roberts and accusing
the American judiciary of undermining national security.
Under normal circumstances, the Supreme Court does not like to take up an issue before it
has made its way through the lower courts. The justices like to have issues percolate below
so that they can benefit from the opinions of lower court judges.
Francisco has moved aggressively at times to get cases before a Supreme Court that is
more solidly conservative with the addition of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Francisco asked the justices to step in to review the lower court's decision in a case related
to the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. He also asked them to
review an adverse lower court opinion blocking the proposed phase-out of the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
PAID CONTENT
o
Are ‘Micro-Mansions’ the Next Big Thing?Mansion Global
o
Color Me Impressed with Crayola's Create and Play Subscription AppMashable-
Catchall
o
New Site Finds the Cheapest Flights in Seconds!TripsShop.com
Recommended by
PAID CONTENT
o Jennifer Lawrence, World’s Highest-Paid Actress, is Making Real… Mansion Global
o Crayola's New Create & Play App Will Make Kids Think They're… Romper
Young, rich and loyal: Nick Ayers could be Trump's next chief of…
PAID CONTENT
o
Recommended by
45
CONGRESS
SUPREME COURT
2018 ELECTION RESULTS
© 2018 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News
Network.
Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | AdChoices
Police fire tear gas at Paris crowds protesting fuel price hikes and the