WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Advocacy groups are set to file the first lawsuit Tuesday challenging President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order for the , likely setting up ban on their service in the armed forces.
It is the same legal team that spent years fighting Trump鈥檚 ban on transgender troops in his first administration, tying it up in the courts before then-President Joe Biden scrapped it when he took office.
Trump's new order, signed Monday, claims the sexual identity of transgender service members 鈥渃onflicts with a soldier鈥檚 commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle鈥� and is harmful to military readiness. It requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a revised policy.
鈥淭he law is very clear that the government can鈥檛 base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people. That鈥檚 animus. And animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional,鈥� said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tara Copp, The Associated Press
