One of the few professions that is doing well under The Orange Man’s Administration is lawyers. Well, those in the private sector anyway. Since his Second Term started, hundreds of lawyers have walked out of the Justice Department in total disgust. After all, he undid one of the largest investigations in the Justice Department’s history by pardoning or commuting the sentences of the nearly 1,600 rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The group included more than 200 defendants who were convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers.
On the other hand the number of individuals and communities that have been forced to sue the Orange Man’s Government for restoring their rights that are being challenged and withdrawn has soared through the roof.
Today, news comes that the latest litigants are Transgender Air Force Members who are being forced to sue the Administration over revoked retirement benefits. Seventeen transgender members of the U.S. Air Force have filed a federal lawsuit against the government, claiming the military unlawfully stripped them of early retirement pensions and benefits. The suit, submitted Monday, underscores ongoing legal battles surrounding policies that target transgender troops.
The lawsuit comes months after the Air Force confirmed that service members with 15 to 18 years of service would no longer have the option to retire early. Instead, they would be separated without retirement pay or health insurance benefits. Advocacy groups say the decision could cost some service members up to $2 million over their lifetimes.
Michael Haley, a staff attorney with GLAD Law, one of the groups assisting in the case, described the revocation as part of “a broader pattern of cruelty toward transgender personnel.” He noted that several plaintiffs had already received orders approving their retirements and some had begun the separation process.
Officials, including the Defense Secretary, the former Fox Newsreader, Pete Hegseth, argued that rolling back diversity and inclusion initiatives was necessary to make the military more “lethal.”
As the case moves forward, it highlights the tension between military policy, civil rights, and the ongoing fight for recognition and equality for transgender service members.
