Tony Perkins, president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has criticized
the judge who blocked President Donald Trump's ban on transgender
troops.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly largely blocked Trump's ban, saying that it was more
likely driven by animus toward transgender people than military
effectiveness.
(Related: Judge
blocks Trump's ban on transgender troops.)
Perkins, who has worked closely with
the president and whose group is strongly opposed to LGBT rights,
chided Kollar-Kotelly for putting “herself in the position of
setting a national security policy with very real consequences for
our country” and described her ruling as a “frustrating bump in
the road to restoring [military] readiness.”
“There was certainly enough support
among the Defense Department, top brass, and service members
themselves – who know better than anyone what the effects would be
and have been. But unfortunately, this is where judicial activism is
leading us,” Perkins said in a statement. “The courts have moved
beyond legislating on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage to
openly usurping the constitutional authority of the executive branch.
The president's primary task is protecting Americans. Yet now we've
seen the courts do everything from relax the president's immigration
policy to telling the commander-in-chief how to run the military. And
without the barest form of accountability to the same people who
elected Donald Trump.”
“If Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wants to
lead the military, she should face the people and run for president.
Until then, her court should leave the policymaking to the man best
informed and empowered for the job,” he added.