'The court must assess': Judge who ruled against transgender ban wants answers now that Pentagon is providing hormone therapy to certain troops

Left: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Right: U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes during her confirmation hearings in June 2022 (U.S. Senate/YouTube).

A federal judge is demanding answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in light of a recent announcement that the Pentagon will provide "testosterone replacement therapy" for interested troops.

The request comes in a long-running case brought by Nicolas Talbott and seven others alleging the Trump administration's ban on transgender service members — and concomitant ban on gender-affirming care for transgender troops — violates due process by discriminating against people "based on their sex."

On July 15, Hegseth announced: "Those with low testosterone will receive, on a voluntary basis, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which the Department of Defense describes as part of their 'periodic health assessments.'"

On Wednesday, in a minute order, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Joe Biden appointee, took judicial notice of Hegseth's announcement — including a link to the video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The judge juxtaposed Hegseth's words with what the court determined is the relevant section of the Pentagon's ban, sourced from President Donald Trump's executive order. The ban reads: "the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards…without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions."

Reyes framed the new Hegseth announcement as a decision to offer "a new annual screening program for all service members 30 and older, including women, for testosterone deficiency."

Under the new Pentagon program, troops found to have low testosterone may elect to receive testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT, as part of their periodic health assessments.

"The Court must assess the impact of this newly announced policy on the parties' positions," Reyes wrote on the case docket.

To that end, she directed both the government defendant and the troop plaintiffs to address the impact of Hegseth's new plan "as part of their forthcoming briefing on discovery and summary judgment."

The judge outlined five specific areas of discussion:

(1) medical guidelines associated with routine screening for testosterone deficiency in the general population and in individuals with symptoms and signs of testosterone deficiency;

(2) medical guidelines for monitoring the administration of TRT;

(3) the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals;

(4) the medical costs associated with screening for testosterone deficiency and providing TRT to service members who do not identify as trans;

(5) the Department's basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban.

Reyes also left the request open-ended by giving the plaintiffs and the defendants an opportunity to include "any other information or clarification the parties wish to present on this topic."

More Law&Crime coverage: 'You do have an answer, you just don't want to give it': Judge ridicules DOJ lawyer during transgender military ban hearing

And, in addition to their own briefs, the court invited the parties to include "expert declaration(s) addressing these issues."

The Reyes order takes aim at an obvious bit of discord between the transgender ban and the new voluntary medical program.

The Trump administration has couched some of its complaints about transgender troops in terms of the recurring medical care some seek out — specifically hormone therapy. The Hegseth-led Pentagon has insisted that "[n]o funds from the Department of Defense will be used to pay for Service members' unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with…newly initiated cross-sex hormone therapy."

Now, the government is offering certain troops hormone therapy as a matter of course and framing the new program as something of a boon to the military's fighting efficiency.

Also on Wednesday, Reyes set a briefing schedule for the case.

Briefs are due Aug. 7, discovery requests are due Aug. 14, expert reports are due Sept. 4, and all responses and replies are due by Sept. 25. Discovery is expected to close Oct. 16, with summary judgment motions due Nov. 13 and responses due Dec. 14.