Court blocks Trump's bid to prevent transgender recruits starting next month

A federal appeals court in Virginia on Thursday rejected a bid by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to prevent the military from accepting transgender recruits starting Jan. 1.

The administration had urged the appeals court to suspend an order by a federal judge in Baltimore for the armed forces to begin accepting transgender recruits on that date.Theadministration has said the Jan. 1 start date was causing thearmed forces to scramble to revise their policies at the risk ofharming military readiness.

In a brief two-paragraph order, the three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was denying the administration's request while the appeal proceeds.All three judges are Democratic appointees.

The court's action could prompt the administration to askthe conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

"We disagree with the court's ruling and are currentlyevaluating the next steps," U.S. Justice Department spokeswomanLauren Ehrsam said in a statement Thursday.

Several transgender service members filed suit in Maryland after Trump said in July he would ban transgender people from the military, a move that would reverse a policy of the Republican president's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, to accept them.

Concerned about costs

Trump cited concern over military focus and medical costs. So far, three federal judges around the country have issued injunctions blocking Trump's ban. His administration has appealed all three rulings.

Joshua Block, an ACLU attorney who represents the plaintiffsin the Maryland case, said he was happy the appeals court sawthrough the government's "smokescreen" to further delayenlistment.

Thursday's action was in response to the administration's appeal of a Nov. 21 ruling by U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis, who said that the transgender prohibition likely violates the plaintiffs' constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

The Garbis ruling followed a similar one on Oct. 30 by another federal judge in Washington, D.C. A third judge in Seattle also ruled against the administration on Dec. 11.

In an August memorandum, Trump gave the military until March 2018 to revert to a policy prohibiting openly transgender people from joining the military and authorizing their discharge.

The memo also halted the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active-duty military personnel. The Obama administration had set a deadline of July 1 of this year to begin accepting transgender recruits. But Trump's defence secretary, James Mattis, postponed that date to Jan. 1, which the president's ban then put off indefinitely.