Transgender service members challenging President Donald Trump’s military service ban are asking a federal judge to send their case to court, as the Pentagon has already begun separation proceedings against some soldiers.
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One of the plaintiffs, Amir Sale, was ordered to appear before the Military Separation Board on March 24, according to a new court filing. Another, Gordon Herrero, received notice on January 6 that removal proceedings had been initiated against him. Both have been named as plaintiffs. Talbot v. United States, This is the central legal challenge to President Trump’s January 2025 executive order banning transgender military service.
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Plaintiff is an agent GLAD method and National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights.
“These service members deserve their day in court, and the public has a right to know what is driving the ban,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter, one of the lead attorneys in the case. Defender. “The government wants to drag its feet and block this harmful policy because it knows there is no evidence to support it.”
in motion In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the plaintiffs asked Judge Ana Reyes to schedule the first legal conference in the case within 45 days and begin discovery, the stage in which both sides exchange evidence and depose witnesses. This request follows the government’s filing of an answer to the plaintiffs’ complaint in August 2025, a procedural milestone that triggers the scheduling process under the court’s continuing order.
Within hours of filing the motion, Reyes ordered the government to respond by March 11 at 5 p.m.
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The case has already sparked one of the sharpest judicial rebukes of the administration’s anti-transgender policies. Last March, Reyes issued a nationwide injunction blocking the ban, writing that the policy was “hostile and dripping with pretexts” and finding that the government had not presented any credible evidence that excluding transgender soldiers improved military readiness.
The administration appealed. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the first administrative stay a few days later, followed by a formal stay in December 2025 pending appeal. Oral argument on the injunction appeal was held on January 22nd. That verdict is still pending. But neither case touches on the underlying case in district court, and plaintiffs are now rushing to build a complete factual record needed for a final judgment.
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“Regardless of the outcome of the pending appeal,” the motion states, the plaintiffs “are entitled to and intend to conduct discovery and litigate on the merits upon final judgment in this court.”
This discovery process could surface internal Pentagon documents and communications that shed light on how the policy was developed and whether it stands up to constitutional review. Reyes has already suggested that is likely not possible.
In previous hearings, Ms. Reyes pressed government lawyers on the evidentiary basis for the ban, pointing out that the depiction of transgender service members as “disloyal, dishonorable, and lacking in discipline” bore no resemblance to the military record before her.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
