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Appeals Court Dismisses DOJ Misconduct Complaint in Transgender Military Ban Case

Key points: The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a Justice Department misconduct complaint targeting a district judge in litigation over President Trump's transgender military ban. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan said misconduct proceedings are not an appropriate substitute for seeking a judge's recusal. The complaint alleged hostile conduct during hearings; Judge Ana Reyes subsequently blocked the ban, and that injunction is currently stayed pending appeal.

10:45 AM, 11/25/2025Politics
Appeals Court Dismisses DOJ Misconduct Complaint in Transgender Military Ban Case

By Nate Raymond

The U.S. Court of Appeals has dismissed an unusual judicial misconduct complaint the Justice Department filed against a federal judge presiding over a challenge to President Donald Trump's ban on transgender military service.

In a Sept. 29 opinion made public Monday, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan ruled that misconduct proceedings were the wrong mechanism to address the Justice Department's concerns about U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes. Srinivasan noted that the department could have sought Judge Reyes' recusal through established procedures rather than by lodging a misconduct complaint.

"A misconduct proceeding is not meant to function in that way — i.e., as an alternate means by which a party in a pending case could bring about the judge's recusal," Srinivasan wrote.

The written decision did not name the district judge, but it quoted from the Justice Department's previously released complaint against Judge Reyes, a nominee of President Joe Biden.

The department alleged that during pretrial hearings the judge had taken issue with the government's positions and "engaged in hostile and egregious misconduct," citing instances in which the judge used coarse language, questioned an attorney about his religion and used another lawyer in a so-called "rhetorical exercise." The complaint was submitted by Chad Mizelle, then a senior Justice Department official.

Judge Reyes later issued an injunction in March blocking the administration's order that would have barred most transgender people from serving in the military. A federal appeals court has temporarily stayed that injunction while it considers the government's appeal.

The episode comes amid heightened tensions between the Justice Department and parts of the federal judiciary. A senior Justice Department official this month described the situation in stark terms, publicly criticizing judges who have blocked administration initiatives.

Neither the Justice Department nor Judge Reyes responded to requests for comment on the appeals court's decision.

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