Pete Hegseth goaded a judge after she blocked President Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military.

The Defense Secretary suggested that US District Judge Ana Reyes should report for active duty since she is ‘now a top military planner’. 

Judge Reyes made a decision after issuing a preliminary injunction that stopped the Pentagon from carrying out a directive by Trump. She characterized the executive order as openly disrespectful to transgender individuals.

‘Since ‘Judge’ Reyes is now a top military planner, she/they can report to Fort Benning at 0600 to instruct our Army Rangers on how to execute High Value Target Raids,’ Hegseth wrote on X.

‘After that, Commander Reyes can dispatch to Fort Bragg to train our Green Berets on counterinsurgency warfare.’

The executive order issued on January 27 said that, ‘expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service’.

It demanded the Department of Defense revise its pronoun policies and medical standards for the military.

‘Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ the order read.

Pete Hegseth goaded a judge after she blocked President Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military.

The Defense Secretary suggested that US District Judge Ana Reyes should report for active duty since she is ‘now a top military planner’

In her determination, Reyes said the language used was ‘unabashedly demeaning’.

‘The ban at bottom invokes derogatory language to target a vulnerable group in violation of the Fifth Amendment,’ Judge Reyes wrote.

‘Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.

‘The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes.

‘We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.’

She pointed out there is a ‘cruel irony’ in that, ‘thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them’.

She added that the defendants, ‘have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest.’

Judge Reyes delayed her ruling to allow the Trump administration to appeal, which it plans to. 

In her preliminary injunction, Reyes said the language used was ‘unabashedly demeaning’. Pictured: Transgender troops past and present 

She noted that her decision to rally against the Trump administration is not one that she ‘made lightly.’

‘Judicial overreach is no less pernicious than executive overreach,’ she said. ‘The President and Defendants could have crafted a policy that balances the Nation’s need for a prepared military and Americans’ right to equal protection.

‘They still can. The Military Ban, however, is not that policy.’

The clash between Hegseth and Reyes is the latest example of the Trump administration attempting to undermine the judiciary. 

The president was recently admonished by Chief Justice John Roberts after he threatened to impeach judge who ruled against migrant deportations.

The executive order will affect almost 5,000 transgender troops, according to military estimates.

Since Trump returned to the White House, transgender service members have reported that they were forced to revert to the grooming standards and pronouns of their birth sex.

Some also claim to have been passed over for promotions, placed on administrative leave and denied medical care.

There are as many as 4,200 service members across all fields who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Between 2014 and 2025, an estimated 1,000 service members have received gender-affirming surgery.