Transgender veterans sue to regain pensions, benefits

More than a dozen transgender veterans are suing the government for revoking their pensions and benefits after being discharged under the Trump administration’s transgender military ban.

The 17 former Air Force members are asking a court to reinstate their pensions that they said were promised them, according to reports.

This is the latest escalation of the White House barring transgenders from joining the military and removing all who are serving.

The suing veterans served between 15 years and 18 years in the Air Force.

“It felt like a betrayal. I’ve given my life to the Air Force,” the lead plaintiff, former Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, told CBS News. “The Air Force has shaped me and made me who I am. It allowed me to be my authentic self.”

Legal advocacy groups filed the lawsuit Monday with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of the plaintiffs.

They argue that the plaintiffs were stripped of their health insurance and $1 million to $2 million in pension benefits.

In August, the Air Force said transgender service members with 15 to 18 years in uniform would not be offered the option to retire early and apply for benefits. This was a reversal of an earlier decision.

Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order demanding that the Pentagon remove all transgender troops.

The Defense Department announced in February that all transgender service members would be removed from duty, and a Supreme Court decision in May sided with the Trump administration to allow the ban.

The court is hearing a challenge to the constitutionality of the ban.

There are 4,240 active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, according to officials, but transgender rights advocates have higher estimates.