A hearing took place on Tuesday regarding President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender service members, with a federal judge expressing frustration as a Justice Department attorney evaded questions about the order.
US District Judge Ana Reyes appeared visibly frustrated as DOJ lawyer Jason Lynch avoided answering basic questions about the order, particularly its references to 'ideology' and whether it constituted a ban on transgender individuals in the military.
At one point, Judge Reyes pointed out that the executive order referred to being transgender as a gender identity and labeled it as an ideology, prompting her to ask Lynch if being transgender is indeed an ideology, to which Lynch replied that he was unsure of the relevant definition of ideology in that context.
Despite the judge's attempts to get clarity on the matter, Lynch continued to dispute that Trump's order was a ban on transgender service members, a stance that the plaintiffs in the case also maintained.
The hearing, which focused on the possibility of issuing a preliminary injunction against the order, is expected to continue for hours and may extend into another day.
This legal challenge is one of several against Trump's executive orders and efforts to downsize the government.
