Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, became the latest senior official to openly criticise a judge as the Trump administration ramped up its attacks on court challenges to its political agenda.
On Saturday, Hegseth mocked US district judge Ana Reyes for blocking a ban on transgender troops in the US military. The ban was enforced by an executive order signed by Donald Trump on 27 January.
Hegseth referred to the judge as “Commander Reyes” in a social media post and suggested she had no authority to make decisions about warfare – though the judge made no such decision, only about its treatment of its personnel.
Reyes was appointed by the Democratic former president Joe Biden and is the latest judge to be publicly attacked by a Trump administration official.
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