Critics argue that U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, who issued a temporary injunction on Trump's removal of gender-confused troops, has a history of left-wing advocacy that discredits the integrity of her jurisprudence, according to a new report.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, who issued a temporary injunction on the Trump administration’s efforts to remove soldiers afflicted with gender dysphoria from the U.S. Armed Forces, has a history of left-wing advocacy that critics say discredits the integrity of her jurisprudence, according to a new report.
“Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are disqualified from military service,” explained a Pentagon memo last month implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order on the subject. “Service members who have a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or a history of sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition, are disqualified from military service.” Waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis, “provided there is a compelling Government interest.”
Reyes, a lesbian hailed in 2023 as the first “openly LGBTQ” federal judge for the District in Columbia, issued a 79-page opinion Tuesday that indefinitely blocked enforcement of the executive order, claiming it violated the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees without adequate studies to establish the policy was “substantially related to military readiness and unit cohesion.
“The Military Ban is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext,” Reyes declared. “Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.”
On March 19, Fox News published a report digging into Reyes’s background, which includes many examples of left-wing partisan advocacy.
Reyes volunteered legal assistance to former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and has donated more than $38,000 to Democrat candidates including Biden since 2008 as well as pro-Democrat super PAC Defeat By Tweet.
Before law school, she spent a year working for the pro-abortion and pro-transgender Feminist Majority Foundation and has been a board member since 2014 (it is not clear if she is still a member to this day).
Additionally, “she was a panelist in a 2021 discussion called ‘Did You Really Just Say That? Recognizing and Managing Microaggressions,’” Fox noted. “The discussion was hosted by Centerforce, which touts a DEI series that includes several conferences aimed at ‘address(ing) the obstacles posed by the backlash against DEI initiatives and the consequences of Affirmative Action repeal.’”
At the same time, the report noted that Reyes has chided anti-Trump individuals and developments on occasion, including the 2019 leak of his tax returns.
In his first month back in office, Trump began the reversal of past presidents’ politicization of the military by reinstating soldiers who had been discharged over COVID shots with their former ranks, back pay, and benefits; and by ordering the elimination of “Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion” (DEI) programs from the military and discharge of service members afflicted with gender confusion. The administration also banned LGBT and “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) flags from being flown at U.S. embassies and other State Department facilities, and ended observation of all identity-based “cultural awareness” months, including LGBT "Pride Month."
