A federal judge on Monday denied a Trump administration request to delay the January 1, 2018 effective date for transgender people to enlist in the military.

Defense Secretary James Mattis on June 30 announced that he was delaying by six months implementation of a policy change allowing transgender people to enlist in the U.S. military. The policy change was set to take effect the following day. Several weeks later, President Donald Trump tweeted that transgender troops will not be allowed to serve in the military. Four lawsuits challenging the ban were filed.

In October, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction which largely blocks Trump's ban.

The Department of Justice asked Kollar-Kotelly to clarify whether her order also covered Mattis' memo delaying transgender enlistments.

“Out of abundance of caution, however, defendants now seek clarification that, should the secretary of defense exercise such discretion, the secretary's action would not violate the court's Oct. 30, 2017, order,” DOJ attorneys wrote.

In her response, Kollar-Kotelly explained that her ruling intended to reset the military policy on transgender service members to the “status quo” before Trump's ban.

“[A]ny action by any of the defendants that changes this status quo is preliminarily enjoined,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

The lawsuit, Doe v. Trump, was filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD).

“We are pleased that Judge Kollar-Kotelly confirmed her prior ruling that on January 1, transgender people who can meet the same qualifications as others will be eligible to enlist,” NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter said in a statement.

GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi added: “January 1 means January 1. That's the date when the military can no longer deny transgender people from enlisting. The court's order was clear on that point. This latest ruling is an exclamation point, not that any was needed.”

A second ruling blocking Trump's ban on transgender troops was handed down earlier this month.