Judge won't consider new transgender troop plan
4 years 10 months 1 day ago Tuesday, March 27 2018 Mar 27, 2018 March 27, 2018 12:53 PM March 27, 2018 in News
SEATTLE (AP) - A federal judge in Seattle says she won't immediately consider President Donald Trump's new policy banning transgender people from serving in the military.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman is one of four federal judges who have issued orders blocking Trump's decision last year to overturn an Obama-era directive allowing transgender troops to serve openly. On Friday, Trump issued a new policy following a Pentagon review, saying transgender troops would be banned with limited exceptions.
Pechman had scheduled a hearing Tuesday on the merits of the administration's prior decision, but the Justice Department asked her to dissolve her previous order, saying it's now moot.
The judge said she didn't want to hear arguments about that Tuesday, because the transgender people challenging the ban hadn't had time to analyze the new policy.