U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes is demanding the Pentagon clarify how its new testosterone screening program and hormone replacement therapy policies intersect with its justification for barring transgender individuals from military service. Reyes has ordered the government to provide further information regarding the new policy in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the ban.
The lawsuit, which Reyes is overseeing, contests the Pentagon's policy that prohibits transgender individuals from serving. The Pentagon has previously argued that the costs and combat readiness impacts of gender-affirming hormone therapy undermine its rationale for the ban.
Reyes's inquiry focuses on the guidelines for screening testosterone deficiency, the parallels between masculinizing hormone therapy for transgender men and testosterone replacement therapy for other service members with low testosterone, and the Pentagon's basis for differentiating treatment between these groups.
Testosterone deficiency, also known as hypogonadism, is a medical condition where the body produces insufficient testosterone, treatable with hormone replacement therapy. "The Court must assess the impact of this newly announced policy on the parties' positions," Reyes stated, referencing an announcement by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth regarding the provision of hormone replacement therapy to soldiers.
Hegseth, in a video posted on July 15, stated that the battlefield necessitates "maximum psychological and mental readiness" and that addressing health markers early keeps service members "on the leading edge of lethality."
Reyes had previously ruled the Pentagon's ban unlawful, calling it "soaked in animus and dripping with pretext." She noted that concerns about costs and fitness, cited by the Pentagon, would also apply to cisgender soldiers but were only used to target transgender service members. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld parts of her order, although the protections were limited to the plaintiffs in the case. The Supreme Court has permitted the administration to enforce the ban while legal challenges proceed. Reyes certified a class in the lawsuit earlier this year, potentially broadening protections beyond the initial plaintiffs. The Pentagon has declined to comment on pending litigation.