SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement on today's federal court hearing on Washington's lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's ban on transgender individuals serving in the military:

“Judge Pechman was clear today: Because of the injunctions in our case and others, the Trump Administration cannot implement any policy barring transgender individuals from serving in the military. Today, because of those injunctions, transgender individuals can enlist, serve openly and access medical care. Nothing the federal government has said or done up to this point, including Friday’s developments, changes anything about the unlawful and discriminatory nature of President Trump’s ban, and I look forward to briefing the court fully on those arguments in the next seven days. As I said before: President Trump’s last-minute maneuvering does nothing to save his unlawful and discriminatory policy.”

Background on Washington's case, with co-plaintiffs represented by Lambda Legal, is available here.

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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Contacts:

Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov