Reuters
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined the mounting criticism of federal judges by President Donald Trump and others in his administration on Saturday, mocking the judge who blocked a ban on transgender troops in the U.S. military and suggesting she had exceeded her authority. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington ruled that Trump's January 27 executive order, one of several issued by the Republican president targeting legal rights for transgender Americans, likely violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. Hegseth in a post on social media platform X mockingly called the judge "Commander Reyes" and suggested she was abusing her power by making decisions about warfighting.