One of the first things that PDJT addressed upon taking office in 2025 was the issue of military readiness and fitness. The services had suffered from failure to meet recruiting goals, from a lack of unit cohesion and from becoming an experiment in DEI ideology.
To fundamentally transform our military back into a lethal fighting force, PDJT selected Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. The department has since been transformed into the Department of War.
Hegseth has done what he was asked to do. Along the way Hegseth determined that allowing individuals with gender dysphoria to serve diminished the military’s effectiveness. The result was an executive order banning such individuals from being part of the military.
On Monday, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC ruled that the Pentagon’s policy barring individuals with gender dysphoria from military service likely violates the Constitution. This is a ridiculous argument.
Don Brown notes:
This is not constitutional adjudication. It is judicial legislation dressed in equal-protection robes, and it represents another dangerous step by federal courts outside the bounds of their authority and into the core constitutional domain of the political branches.
The Constitution is unambiguous. Article II, Section 2 declares that the President “shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” Article I, Section 8 grants Congress the power “to raise and support Armies” and “to provide and maintain a Navy,” along with the authority “to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces.” Nowhere does the Constitution grant federal judges any role in setting military standards, determining fitness for service, or second-guessing the professional judgment of military leaders on unit cohesion, readiness, lethality, or medical qualifications.
Let’s be reminded that the military’s job is to win wars. Military fitness standards are the military’s job. Not everyone is capable of meeting the standards that are required. Based on this ruling, if another “protected” group, say those confined to wheelchairs, demanded to be allowed into military, is the Executive Branch required to take them?
This question illustrates the absurdity of the DC Appeals Court ruling. Military service is not a constitutional right. It is a privilege extended to those who meet the necessary standards needed to defend this country. Federal judges sticking their noses into something that is way outside the foundational bounds of the Constitution puts this nation at risk.
The American people did not elect federal judges to run the military. They elected a Commander-in-Chief. The Constitution draws a bright line between those who wield the sword and those who don the black robe. The D.C. Circuit has crossed it. The administration must highlight where that line is and draw it in bold. The military is not just another federal agency subject to the whims of the judiciary.