Supreme Court Stays Lower Court Ruling, Allowing Trump Transgender Ban To Proceed

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Trump administration in lifting a lower court order that paused the Pentagon's transgender military ban from taking effect – allowing Trump's order and related policies to proceed, at least.
The high court ruling is a near-term victory for the White House, even as it did not address the underlying merits of the case or President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order banning transgender service members from the U.S. military.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the administration's appeal and kept the lower court injunction in place.
At issue in the suit, Shilling v. United States, is Trump's executive order banning transgender military members.
The executive order would require the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding "trans-identifying medical standards for military service" and to "rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness."
Seven transgender military members brought suit against the administration in Washington, D.C., and in Seattle-based federal court.
That complaint argued that the executive order "turns" away transgender military members "and kicks them out – for no legitimate reason."
"Rather, it baselessly declares all transgender people unfit to serve, insults and demeans them, and cruelly describes every one of them as incapable of ‘an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ based solely because they are transgender," it continued.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction in March that blocked the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members as the suit worked its way through the lower courts.
In his opinion granting the injunction, Settle characterized the ban as a "blanket prohibition on transgender service." Settle found the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their equal protection, First Amendment, and procedural due process claims, among others.
"The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record," Settle wrote.
Settle wrote in his order that the injunction was to "maintain the status quo of military policy regarding both active-duty and prospective transgender service" that were in place prior to Trump's Jan. 27 executive order.
The administration quickly appealed the order to the 9th Circuit, requesting the appellate court stay Settle's order.
The administration argued in court filings that the policy "furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs."
A three-judge panel – composed of Judges Atsushi Wallace Tashima, a Clinton-appointee, John B. Owens, an Obama-appointee, and Roopali H. Desai, a Biden-appointee – denied the administration's request for a stay on March 31, which was overturned by the Supreme Court ruling Tuesday.
"The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so," a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time.
Shilling v. United States is just one of several suits challenging the Trump administration's military ban. It comes as Trump has used his early days in office to undo major Biden-era policies, including their efforts to promote a diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, agenda.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-hands-down-decision-trans-military-ban-suit

Pete Hegseth Fires All Pentagon Advisory Committees

Including Seat Held by Obama Crony Susan Rice.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has formally terminated the service of every member sitting on the Department of Defense’s advisory committees.
Based on the information available on the website as of Thursday, the now-defunct panels included several well-known Democrats and Bush-era Republicans.

Janine Davidson (Chair) – Former Under Secretary of the Navy under Obama. A staunch Democrat and longtime proponent of Obama-era military reforms, now steering Pentagon policy advice.
Michèle Flournoy – Held major Pentagon roles under Clinton and Obama; often discussed as a potential Secretary of Defense under Hillary Clinton or Biden.
Colin Kahl – National Security Advisor to then-VP Biden, later Under Secretary of Defense for Policy under Biden. Key Biden ally and architect of many failed Middle East strategies during the Obama years.
Susan Rice – National Security Advisor under Obama; Domestic Policy Advisor under Biden. Central to Obama’s foreign policy blunders and later helped craft Biden’s radical domestic agenda.
Dana Shell Smith – Career diplomat; served as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar under Obama.
Eric Edelman – Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under George W. Bush; strong neoconservative background.
Jon Huntsman Jr. – Served under George W. Bush (Ambassador to Singapore) and Obama (Ambassador to China); briefly served under Trump (Ambassador to Russia).
Kori Schake – Held roles under Bush; associated with AEI and other think tanks; known for hawkish, internationalist views.

According to The Intercept:

The Pentagon quietly scrubbed an advisory board’s website after a fired aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth complained that it was stocked with holdovers hostile to President Donald Trump who might be spreading damaging leaks.
The Defense Policy Board’s online roster was erased after axed staffer Dan Caldwell told Tucker Carlson in an interview that its members were “incredibly hostile” to Trump.
Caldwell was fired Friday amid a Defense Department leak investigation that has led to the ouster of several longtime Hegseth confidants.
In his interview with Carlson, Caldwell cast himself as the victim of a behind-the-scenes battle between warmongers pushing for conflict with Iran and skeptics of foreign military intervention such as himself.
Although the Defense Policy Board is an independent advisory group with no powers of its own, he blamed members including Susan Rice, a former Joe Biden aide, as potential sources of leaks for which he had been blamed.
Hegseth’s decisive action came after a 45-day internal review, which concluded that these advisory bodies had become bloated, ineffective, and, in many cases, politically misaligned with the department’s new mission under President Trump’s renewed leadership.
In a statement issued late Thursday, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell made clear that the department was taking a new direction:
“Yesterday, informed by the recently concluded 45-day review of DOD advisory committees, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the conclusion of service of all members of each DOD advisory committee that had been subject to the review, consistent with applicable law.
Secretary Hegseth appreciates the members’ efforts on behalf of the department and the United States of America, but changes are needed to support the new strategic direction and policy priorities of the department and to ensure departmental resources are used efficiently.”
In a letter issued by former Chief of Staff Joe Kasper, who left the agency Thursday:
“No later than April 25, 2025, each sponsor of a DoD advisory committee will notify advisory committee members that their service has concluded and will provide my appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the Department and United States America.
“The Deputy Secretary of Defense may retain individual members on a case-by-case basis upon determination that the member is required for uninterrupted committee operations necessary for national security reasons. Within 30 days, sponsors will recommend members for their DoD advisory committees for my review and approval.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-cleans-house-fires-all/

BREAKING: US And Panama Signing Joint Declaration Over Use, Security, And Operation Of Canal

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has just announced that the US and Panama have signed a memo of understanding on cooperative security activities and will be signing a Joint Declaration on the security and operation of the canal.
Hegseth says this “is a framework for U.S. warships & auxiliary ships to sail first and free through the Panama Canal.”
President Trump wins again! It’s clear that his strategy was never to take the Panama by force, but to lay out a more extreme position in hopes of getting Panama’s attention and cooperation with US interests and to stop China’s control over the canal. And it worked.

https://therightscoop.com/big-breaking-pete-hegseth-announces-us-and-panama-are-signing-a-joint-declaration-over-canal/

"Better To Keep Ones Cotton-Pickin' DEI Mouf Shut ...

 ... And be thought a stupid bitch than to speak and to remove all doubt."

Hegseth Signs Combat Arms Standards Memo For Men And Women

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo ordering the military to adopt the same standards for both men and women serving in combat roles on Sunday.
Hegseth said that the U.S. military's standards had flagged under the previous administration.
"For far too long, we allowed standards to slip, and different standards for men and women in combat arms MOS's and jobs. That's not acceptable," Hegseth said.
"We need to have the same standards – male or female – in our combat roles to ensure our men and women who are under our leaders and in those formations have the best possible leaders and the highest possible standards that are not based at all on your sex," he continued.
The memo, released by the Pentagon Monday, said "As the nature of warfare evolves and the demands on our Service members grow more complex, it is imperative that we assess and refine the physical fitness standards that enable our readiness and lethality.
"I am directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments to develop comprehensive plans to distinguish combat arms occupations from non-combat arms occupations," Hegseth wrote in the document. "This effort will ensure that our standards are clear, mission-focused, and reflective of the unique physical demands placed on our Service members in various roles.
"Additionally, for certain combat arms roles, it is essential to identify which positions require heightened entry-level and sustained physical fitness. These roles, which are critical to our military’s mission success, demand exceptional physical capabilities, and the standards for them must reflect that rigor," the memo continues.
"All entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms positions must be sex-neutral, based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary. In establishing those standards, the Secretaries of the Military Departments may not establish standards that would result in any existing Service member being held to a lower standard," it also said.
The new memo comes after Hegseth ordered a review of military fitness and grooming standards earlier this month. Hegseth has vowed to bring back tougher standards while reversing "woke" policies that don't align with restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence.
"Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear," he said in a Jan. 25 memo to service members. "The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose."

Swalwell's Hypocricy Knows No Bounds

Not my Bro, Swalwell, you spent years humping the leg of a Chinese honeypot spy. Just resign.

DOD’s Message To Gender Pretender Marines, Sailors

Get out NOW before getting the boot and losing half your benefits.
Transgender pretender Marines and Navy Sailors have just been offered a special deal to voluntarily leave the service now, or lose out when they get the boot.
Specifically, they’ve been offered all their due benefits if they go ahead and leave. But if they wait to get the boot, they lose half of their due benefits, which can be significant.
Here’s more from Fox News:
The Department of the Navy is offering transgender sailors and Marines the option to voluntarily separate from the service by March 28. Otherwise, they risk being booted from the service — cutting the benefits they’re eligible for in half, according to a Thursday memo released by the Department of the Navy.
The policy aligns with an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in January to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s subsequent orders in February instructing each of the service branches to start separating transgender troops within 30 days.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Terence Emmert said in the memo that the Department of the Navy recognizes male and female as the only two sexes, and that “an individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life.”
As a result, Emmert said that those who have a history or “exhibit symptoms consistent with” gender dysphoria may no longer serve in the military and may voluntarily elect to depart the service by March 28. After that date, the Navy will remove sailors and Marines involuntarily from their respective services.
“A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition is disqualifying for applicants for military service, and incompatible with military service for military personnel,” the memo said.
Even so, the Navy said it will not go through medical records or health assessments to identify transgender service members, unless explicitly requested to do so.
Transgender service members who don’t take the Navy up on its offer to voluntarily separate are not eligible for as many benefits post-separation. Those who voluntarily depart from the service will receive double the separation pay as those who are involuntarily removed, according to the Navy’s memo.
For example, the Pentagon said on Feb. 28 that an E-5, a petty officer first class in the Navy, with 10 years of experience, would collect a total of $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, but only $50,814 if that service member were to opt for involuntary separation pay.
Those with less than six years of service, or more than 20 years of service, are not eligible for voluntary separation pay.
 
Who wouldn’t take a deal like this? In other words, I think it will be very effective in getting these trans pretenders out of our Navy and Marines. And honestly it’s the compassionate and right way to do it. They talk as if Trump is some hateful dictator, but the severance deals he’s given to federal employees and now the fake-gendered in our military just show he’s exactly the opposite.

DoD Secretary Pete Hegseth Responds To Pentagon Officials And ‘Experts’ Re: The Climate Hoax

Whining that cutting ‘Climate Change’ programs will harm National Security.
The shift from Lloyd Austin to Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary has proven to be one of the biggest upgrades in American history and a statement issued by Hegseth today drove that point home even further.
As TGP readers know, the Trump Administration has tasked Elon Musk and DOGE to downsize the federal government.
So far, DOGE has saved taxpayers $105 billion.
Many of the programs slashed include DEI and “climate change” programs. These have been rampant within the Department of Defense for decades, contributing to its inability to pass an audit.
On Sunday, far-left CNN published an article using unnamed sources to push a narrative that the Pentagon eliminating climate programs will damage national security.
“I think they’re stuck on the word ‘climate’ and not seeing the operational impacts,” one unnamed official told CNN. He also claimed that the cuts will pose “readiness issues all around.”
“Inaction (on ‘climate change’) at this point will put our readiness and the lives of our troops and their families at greater risk,” whined Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, former assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and environment.
Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot rightfully disputed this garbage, telling CNN that the DOD is “is working closely with DOGE to identify efficiencies and savings across the department on behalf of taxpayers while we restore the warrior ethos and refocus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”
“Climate zealotry and other woke chimeras of the Left are not part of that core mission,” Ullyot added.
Upon seeing Ullyot’s response, Hegseth decided to give his own thoughts with a savage statement that will thrill conservatives across America.
“John is, of course, correct,” Hegseth wrote. “The @DeptofDefense does not do climate change crap.”
“We do training and warfighting.” 

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/03/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-delivers-savage-response-pentagon/

Pentagon Orders Discharge Of Transgenders

The Department of Defense has issued new guidance ordering the military services to begin the process of discharging transgender members of the Armed Forces in 30 days. The new policy recognizes only two sexes; it requires members of the Armed Forces to adhere to the physical fitness and grooming standards of their biological sex. Any attempt at chemically or surgically changing sex makes the person unsuitable for military service. If a person had, at some point, been transgender they can be retained if they "demonstrate “36 consecutive months of stability” in their sex with no “clinically significant distress or impairment” if they can prove they have “never attempted to transition to any sex other than their sex” and if they are willing to adhere to “all applicable standards” relating to their sex."

f. The Department only recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual's sex is immutable, unchanging during a person's life. All Service members will only serve in accordance with their sex, defined in Executive Order 14168, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female."
g. Where a standard, requirement, or policy depends on whether the individual is a male or female ( e.g., medical fitness for duty, physical fitness and body fat standards; berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities; and uniform and grooming standards), all persons will be subject to the standard, requirement, or policy associated with their sex.
h. Pronoun usage when referring to Service members must reflect a Service member's sex. In keeping with good order and discipline, salutations ( e.g., addressing a senior officer as "Sir" or "Ma'am") must also reflect an individual's sex.

The memo reiterates an earlier policy that barred transgender individuals from enlisting.
Even though the precursor to this policy is in litigation, it seems unlikely to be successful. Similar legal histrionics followed Trump's ban on transgenders in the military in 2017. That ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in a 2019 decision before Joe Biden reversed the policy in 2021.
The ban on transgenders is long overdue. If a transgender has progressed beyond the point of Klinger-esque crossdressing, they probably are not deployable because of the psychiatric and medical care they need to continue their attempt to transition from something they are into something they aren't. In context, a kid with braces can't enlist. A kid who has taken Adderall or Ritalin in the previous three years can't enlist. And yet we not only enlisted transgenders, we allowed them to have surgery at government expense.
Mirroring the experience of young women in varsity athletics, men "transitioning" to women were bunked with military women.
Finally, the entire project was corrosive of military discipline. Guidance was issued on addressing a 6-2, 220-pound bearded officer wearing a skirt. Anecdotally, the fear of being accused of being a "transphobe" frequently let transgenders exhibit behavior and performance that would get a regular soldier punished.
The new guidance clears the decks, so to speak, for the military to toss aside this modern-day version of Robert S. McNamara's Project 100,000 and get back to the business of training to win wars.

https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/02/27/pentagon-orders-discharge-of-transgenders-n2186073

Gen. CQ Brown Was A Racist Piece Of Shit

I am so glad the Trump administration is doing their utmost to rid the country of this racist scourge of DEI.

This thread consists of 9 instances where CQ demonstrated his loyalty to DEI and racial tendencies.

https://x.com/Theswampmonitor/status/1893754162065596611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1893754162065596611%7Ctwgr%5E52eb7186a6c76b664ab563da6e3915ed3d507ad3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconservativetreehouse.com%2Fblog%2F2025%2F02%2F23%2Ffebruary-23rd-2025-presidential-politics-trump-administration-day-35%2F

Pete Hegseth Confirmed As Secretary Of Defense In 3 ... 2 ... 1

UPDATE - Vance voted. 51-50 in favor of confirmation.

The vote is done (50-50) except for the tie breaker by Vance. 

As soon as J.D. Vance throws the deciding vote in, Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as Secretary Of Defense.

I Thought Hegseth Did Well

Most conservative pundits think he did much better than I thought. I do think that the Democrat females lost their minds during the hearing.

Watch:

https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1879263035187220789

Hegseth - Senate Confirmation Hearing

 

Elizabeth Warren Complains About Sexual Assault Numbers During Biden’s Administration …

While trying to attack Pete Hegseth? Is she worried that someone may actually do something to stop sexual assaults? Does she have her peace pipe stuck in the wrong orifice?

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Speaking About DOD Directive 5240.01

I posted about this DoD Directive back on Oct 22.

 

https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1849247231066460657

 

“This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.”

Admiral Josh Painter - Fred Thompson - Hunt for Red October

Is there anyone out there who can let me know if this is authentic?