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Is Pete Hegseth violating judges’ orders blocking the Pentagon’s trans military ban? Senators demand answers

Pete Hegseth Tammy Duckworth John Fetterman Elizabeth Warren
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Senate Democrats are demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The Democratic lawmakers are asking the Pentagon to respond to simple questions.

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A coalition of 14 U.S. Senate Democrats is demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid growing concerns that the Department of Defense is ignoring federal court orders halting the Trump administration’s ban on transgender military service.

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In a sharply worded Tuesday letter, the senators pressed Hegseth to explain whether the Pentagon has discharged any transgender troops in violation of nationwide injunctions issued in March. Those rulings—by U.S. District Judges Ana Reyes and Benjamin Hale Settle—blocked enforcement of Executive Order 14183, which mandates the separation of transgender service members and bans them from acknowledging their identities.

Related: Trump's DOJ struggles defending trans military ban during D.C. appeals court hearing

“These injunctions were timely,” the senators wrote, noting the DOD’s plan to implement the ban just days later. “Several military experts and former leaders characterized this rapid timeframe as ‘rushed,’ ‘alarming,’ and ‘brutal.’”

The letter calls on Hegseth to disclose how many trans troops have been affected, how much taxpayer money has been spent defending the policy, and what steps—if any—the Pentagon has taken to reintegrate service members harmed by the administration’s actions. It also emphasizes the disproportionate service of transgender Americans: Nearly 20 percent are veterans or current military, compared with 7 percent of the general U.S. population.

Related: Meet the transgender Army lieutenant who is challenging Donald Trump's military ban

“In return for this patriotism,” the senators wrote, “the administration denies transgender servicemembers not only the ability to serve, but also the resulting benefits they have earned.”

The letter follows a tense appellate hearing in Talbott v. United States, where the D.C. Circuit grilled the DOJ’s defense of the policy. Judges questioned whether the administration’s rationale—deployability and “unit cohesion”—held up under scrutiny. “Your argument is that you can serve as a transgender person as long as you don’t serve as a transgender person,” Judge Cornelia Pillard said, summing up the internal contradiction.

Related: This trans Air Force recruit wants to jump out of planes to save others. He's suing Trump to serve

Meanwhile, Hegseth continues to undercut his department’s legal claims. In a recent post on X, formerly Twitter, he declared, “Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI—all of which are no longer allowed @ DoD.”

“Fox News television personalities—not military units—are the ones bothered by transgender people faithfully serving their country,” the senators wrote, nodding to Hegseth’s former role as a cable news contributor.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Ron Wyden of Oregon are among the signers.

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