Supreme Court hands down decision in trans military ban suit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Trump administration in lifting a lower court order that paused the Pentagon’s transgender military ban from taking effect – allowing Trump’s order and related policies to proceed, at least.

The high court ruling is a near-term victory for the White House, even as it did not address the underlying merits of the case or President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order banning transgender service members from the U.S. military.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the administration’s appeal and kept the lower court injunction in place. 

At issue in the suit, Shilling v. United States, is Trump’s executive order banning transgender military members. 

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The executive order would require the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.”

The Trump administration has argued that further stalling the policy could pose a threat to U.S. military readines – concerns it outlined to Supreme Court in a filing late last month.

“Absent a stay, the district court’s universal injunction will remain in place for the duration of further review in the Ninth Circuit and in this Court – a period far too long for the military to be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the Nation’s interests,” U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court, urging justices to grant the stay.

Trump officials have argued that the transgender military policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.”

The case was immediately challenged in federal court. Seven transgender military members brought suit against the administration in Seattle-based federal court, and in Washington, D.C., where U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes grilled lawyers for the Trump administration in a dizzying line of questioning that invoked shelters, Jesus, and Miss Pac-Man, among other things, before asking the government to push its planned implementation deadline. That decision was later overturned by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING

In the Seattle case, plaintiffs argued that the executive order “turns away” transgender military members “and kicks them out – for no legitimate reason.”

“Rather, it baselessly declares all transgender people unfit to serve, insults and demeans them, and cruelly describes every one of them as incapable of ‘an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ based solely because they are transgender,” it continued.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction in March that blocked the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members as the suit worked its way through the lower courts.

In his opinion granting the injunction, Settle characterized the ban as a “blanket prohibition on transgender service.” Settle found the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their equal protection, First Amendment, and procedural due process claims, among others.

“The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record,” Settle wrote.

Settle wrote in his order that the injunction was to “maintain the status quo of military policy regarding both active-duty and prospective transgender service” that were in place prior to Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order.

The administration quickly appealed the order to the 9th Circuit, requesting the appellate court stay Settle’s order.

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The administration argued in court filings that the policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.”

A three-judge panel – composed of Judges Atsushi Wallace Tashima, a Clinton-appointee, John B. Owens, an Obama-appointee, and Roopali H. Desai, a Biden-appointee – denied the administration’s request for a stay on March 31, which was overturned by the Supreme Court ruling Tuesday.

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“The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so,” a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time. 

Shilling v. United States is just one of several suits challenging the Trump administration’s military ban. It comes as Trump has used his early days in office to undo major Biden-era policies, including their efforts to promote a diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, agenda. 

Trump teases ‘one of the most important announcements’ in years ahead of Mideast trip

President Donald Trump teased a “very, very big announcement” ahead of his upcoming trip to the Middle East. 

Trump has a planned visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the coming days. 

“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he is meeting with Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney. “And I won’t tell you on what … and it’s very positive.”

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“It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.” 

After that, the president asked Carney if he’d like to say a few words. 

“I’m on the edge of my seat,” Carney said, drawing laughter from the press before thanking Trump for his “hospitality” and “leadership.” 

At the start of the meeting, Trump announced that the Houthis in Yemen “don’t want to fight” any longer and agreed to stop its attacks on shipping lanes. In turn, the president said, the U.S. would stop its bombardment of the Iran-backed terror group. The U.S. has been launching daily airstrikes on Yemen since March 15 to defend the freedom of navigation.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile that struck near the main terminal of Israel’s international airport outside Tel Aviv over the weekend. 

The Israeli Cabinet voted to approve a plan to increase fighting in Gaza, and a senior Israeli defense official reportedly said Monday that Trump’s trip to the Middle East brings a “window of opportunity” for a potential deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which killed 1,200 Israelis and prompted the war. 

“If there is no hostage deal, Operation ‘Gideon Chariots’ will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved,” the Israeli defense official said, according to Reuters. 

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In the Oval Office, Trump did not say whether the forthcoming announcement was related to the Israel-Hamas war. 

The president went on to discuss trade relations with Canada, the impact of the 145% tariff on China prompting major automobile and tech companies to invest in onshoring in the U.S., as well as the prospect of the U.S. one day obtaining control of Canada. 

The president then circled back to clarify that the announcement would not necessarily be related to that subject.

“We’re going to have a great announcement. And I’m not necessarily saying it’s on trade,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a great announcement over the next few days. Announcement that will be, so, so incredible, so positive. And I’m not saying… I don’t want you to think it’s necessarily on trade.” 

Trump said the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was agreed upon in 2020, would be renegotiated shortly, but was a “transitional” and “very positive step” away from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA.) 

Trump said NAFTA was the “worst trade deal in the history of our country, probably in the history of the world.” 

Asked about a potential new trade deal with Canada with Carney in power, Trump said he has “a lot of respect” for the prime minister, who “ran a really great campaign.” 

“Yeah, something could happen,” Trump said. 

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“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada,” he added. 

Carney reiterated that Canada was not for sale, but Trump said, “Never say never.” 

“I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable, and only doable in a very friendly way,” Trump said. “If it’s to everybody’s benefit, you know, Canada loves us and we love Canada. That’s, I think, the number one thing that’s important. But we’ll see. I mean, over time, we’ll see what happens.” 

WH press secretary tears into network for airing interview with Mexican cartel member

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed CNN for airing an interview with a Mexican cartel member this week.

Speaking to Fox News Channel anchor Sean Hannity on Monday night, Leavitt ripped CNN for traveling south of the border to get the perspective of a member of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican drug cartel that was designated as a terrorist group at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“I thought it was quite despicable, but again, this is just another reason why the trust in the legacy media is at an all-time low amongst the American public,” Leavitt said.

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The government official also accused CNN of giving a “softball interview” to the gang member.

“Well, it was fascinating to me, Sean. I was scrolling on Instagram when I came across this interview,” she said. “And it stopped me in my tracks, not just because they sat down with a member of a Mexican cartel that is now designated as a foreign terror organization by the United States government, but because of the nature of the questions of this notorious foreign terrorist.”

“It was a softball interview giving a platform to a notorious drug cartel that has killed American citizens,” Leavitt added.

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CNN published the interview on May 2, which was a conversation between network correspondent Isobel Yeung and a Sinaloa Cartel member who produces Fentanyl in Sinaloa, Mexico. The outlet disclosed that the cartel member only agreed to meet if CNN kept his identity and location hidden.

In a clip of the conversation posted on CNN.com, Yeung asked the masked and sunglasses-clad individual what he thought of Trump designating his cartel a terror group. In Spanish, he replied, “Well, the situation is ugly. But we have to eat.”

She then asked him for his message to the U.S. president, to which he said, “My respect. According to him, he’s looking out for his people, but the problem is that the consumers are [in the United States.]”

“If there aren’t any consumers, we would stop,” he declared.

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Yeung followed by asking him if he had any remorse for contributing to the violence and fear that the cartel fueled in the local community.

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The anonymous gang member admitted to feeling sorry about the way things were, stating, “Of course. Things are sad, but well, things are sad.”

Rep for accused teen killer’s family doubles down on attacking victim’s father

The spokesperson for the family of Karmelo Anthony, accused of fatally stabbing Frisco, Texas high school track star Austin Metcalf, took to X late Monday to attack Metcalf’s father for the second time, provoking a response from Metcalf’s father. 

On April 17, Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), led a chaotic news conference where Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, was escorted out by police.

At the beginning of the news conference, Alexander turned his wrath toward the elder Metcalf, calling him “disrespectful” and saying that his appearance was “a disrespect to the dignity of his son.”

In Monday night’s video, Alexander doubled down on those attacks and said his organization never called the police on Metcalf. They were there before Metcalf arrived, he said.

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“This press conference wasn’t organized by him,” Alexander said. “This press conference wasn’t about him. This press conference didn’t invite him. Yet at the end of the day, it’s a criminal case y’all.”

“It’s literally inappropriate, not only ethically, but it’s inappropriate for that family to interact, and we don’t know what we don’t know,” Alexander said. “And at the end of the day, I have to ensure that the safety of all of the parties are intact. Just someone showing up at our press conference, we can’t just have that. We don’t know what it is.”

Alexander added that he had also lost a son and did feel for Jeff Metcalf. 

Alexander then launched into a tirade about those online who have criticized him for his past criminal behavior and posted his past mugshots.

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“I really don’t care what no one says about me, I really don’t,” he said. “I don’t care about the racist p—– who want to say something about Dominique and say something about my past. I really, quite frankly, don’t. If you know me, you know your attacks towards me only do one thing: boost my ego. The reality is, I really don’t, quite frankly, give a damn.”

Alexander then returned to speaking about the press conference, saying the Anthony family was not aware that Metcalf was there until he was removed by Dallas Police, and that he didn’t know Metcalf was in attendance until a member of the media tipped him off. 

“One of our security people asked [Metcalf] to move back,” Alexander said. “He looked at him like he was entitled, or like he didn’t have to move, whatever it may be. I said, ‘Who? What?'” said Alexander. “[The media member] was like, ’Yeah, that’s Austin’s dad.’ I said, ‘I know you’re lying.’ Like, ‘What? He can’t be here.'”

“And so what we initiated was making sure we secured the facility,” he said. “How do we know what he came here for?” 

Metcalf fired back at Alexander. 

“I don’t allow [Alexander] to live rent free in my mind,” he told Fox News Digital. “It really doesn’t matter about the lies this man spreads. He just wants more attention. Don’t give it to him. Justicer [sic] will prevail.” 

Alexander later complained that people online deemed him “insensitive” for his attacks on Metcalf during the first news conference. 

The April 17 news conference was held for the Anthony family to speak for the first time since Karmelo Anthony allegedly murdered Austin Metcalf, but an agitated Alexander spent much of the news conference attacking Jeff Metcalf. 

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“What we’ve seen at the beginning of this press conference, of the father being at this press conference, these are my words – don’t quote anybody – is a disrespect to the dignity of his son,” Alexander said at the time. 

“Next Generation Action Network from the beginning has respected the loss of life, no matter our opinion of it. We have kept our opinion close,” he said. “We have not attacked. We have not shared the information that was shared with us about Austin Metcalf because we respect the dignity of life and loss.”

Later, Anthony’s mother, Kayla Hayes, read a prepared statement. 

“Our family has been under attack,” she said. “Whatever you think, what happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boy, my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about.”

She said such lies have put her family in danger, along with the community and those involved in the investigation. 

“Our address and my husband’s previous employer’s address has been put on all social media platforms,” she said. “My husband had to take a leave of absence because he’s afraid of what may happen to our family.”

She said her husband’s mental health is deteriorating, and her daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bed. 

Before concluding, Alexander turned to the issue of race. 

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“Because these racist bigots try to prevent us from standing up for our baby, our boy, he should be afforded the same rights that Kyle Rittenhouse had, Daniel Penny and all the people who have claimed whatever their defense was – he should be afforded the same right,” Alexander said. 

“Nobody in the public media has one video, but we got the video of Kyle Rittenhouse with an AK-47 shooting three people in the back,” he said. “We got that, and he raised more than $2 million publicly, and nobody said anything about that.”

Jeff Metcalf and the Dallas Police Department declined to comment. 

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Jett Metcalf previously told Fox News, “This person made a bad choice and affected both his family and my family forever.”

He said Austin, who died in his twin brother’s arms, “was the light of my life.”

“People ask me, how can you forgive this other person? I said I forgive the other person because the forgiveness is not for him,” he said. “The forgiveness is for me so I can have peace. His life is destroyed. My life is destroyed.”

House Democrats storm out of cryptocurrency hearing after rep alleges Trump ‘corruption’

House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., walked out of a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services committees. Within seconds of Crypto Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., calling the meeting to order, Waters rose to object. 

She was asked multiple times to explain her objection, and eventually said it was “because of the corruption of the president of the United States and his ownership of crypto and his oversight of all the agencies.”

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Waters and the Democrats objected to the hearing based on concerns about President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, which include his meme coin and World Liberty Financial, according to the Hill. The congresswoman also expressed concerns about Trump’s family’s involvement in crypto, including his sons’ launch of a Bitcoin-mining company.

When Waters, who serves as ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, opened the “shadow hearing,” she accused Republicans of “legitimizing” Trump’s alleged “corruption.”

“…our Republican colleagues refused to address the unprecedented conflicts of interest presented by President Donald Trump and his family. I am deeply concerned that Republicans aren’t just ignoring Trump’s corruption—they are legitimizing Trump’s and his family’s efforts to enrich themselves on the backs of average Americans. Through his crypto business, Trump has turned the office of the presidency into a personal moneymaking machine,” Waters said in her opening remarks. She later went on to accuse Trump of undermining democracy.

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Waters also criticized Trump’s creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which she claimed was a method of using taxpayer resources to boost the value of the president’s cryptocurrency.

The Democrats’ hearing featured a panel that included Chastity Murphy,, a former economic policy advisor for Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Timothy Massad, director of the Digital Assets Policy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School; and Mark Hays, associate director for Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology at Americans for Financial Reform.

The three panelists largely criticized Trump and Republicans’ handling of the cryptocurrency industry. However, they all emphasized the need for stronger regulation—a topic that was intended to be the focus of the original joint hearing.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., responded to Waters’ objection to the hearing with a statement.

“Committee Republicans on Financial Services and the House Committee on Agriculture will continue to work with legislators on both sides of the aisle who are serious about creating a lasting framework that protects Americans, encourages innovation, and brings digital asset leadership back to the U.S.”

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On Monday, the Financial Services Committee released a discussion draft of a bill to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S. The committee is looking to lay out “clear regulations” for the industry and prevent “bad actors” from thriving.

“By providing strong safeguards and long-overdue regulatory certainty, the discussion draft advances President Trump’s vision to make the U.S. the ‘crypto capital of the world’ and reinforces America’s leadership in the global financial system,” the committee’s one-pager reads.

University announces mass layoffs after grants pulled over antisemitism on campus

Columbia University said it will cut around 180 staff members Tuesday following the Trump administration’s announcement in March that it canceled $400 million in federal grants over the Ivy League school’s “failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment.” 

“Across the research portfolio we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination,” acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman said in a statement. “This represents about 20% of the individuals who are funded in some manner by the terminated grants.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward,” she added. “This is a deeply challenging time across all higher education, and we are attempting to navigate through tremendous ambiguity with precision, which will be imperfect at times.” 

The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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Columbia University said in early March that it was “notified of federal action from Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University. 

“The federal agencies cite ‘the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.’ There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” it added at the time. 

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Then in April, Columbia University caved in to demands from the Trump administration in an effort to restore federal funding. 

The Ivy League school agreed to ban masks for the purpose of concealing identity, empower 36 campus police officers with new powers to arrest students and appoint a senior vice provost with broad authority to oversee the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, as well as the Center for Palestine Studies.  

As of today, “Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid,” according to Shipman. 

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“Increasing budget constraints combined with uncertainty related to future levels of federal funding for research, including proposed reductions in facilities and administration (i.e., indirect costs) reimbursements, requires us to make difficult choices,” Shipman said about the layoffs. “We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.” 

AG Bondi announces one of the largest fentanyl seizures in US history

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that authorities have made one of the biggest fentanyl busts in U.S. history with the seizure of 11.5 kilos of the drug, including 3 million pills.

Bondi said that around 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine and 4.5 kilos of heroin were also seized along with $5 million in cash and 49 rifles and pistols.

Sixteen people including three women, were arrested in the operation. Six of the males are in the U.S. illegally, Bondi said. 

The leader of the group, Alberto Salazar Amaya, is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was living in Salem, Oregon, and drugs were being distributed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Phoenix, Arizona, and in Utah, Bondi said. 

“We’re very proud to announce today a historic Sinaloa Cartel arrest and it marks the most significant victory in our nation’s fight against fentanyl and drug trafficking to date,” Bondi said at a press briefing in Washington D.C. “This multi-agency operation, led by DEA, with our local, state, tribal and federal partners targeted one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking and foreign terrorist organizations in our country.”

“The DEA seized 11.5 kilos of fentanyl, including an astounding approximately 3 million fentanyl pills. The largest seizure in our nation’s history.”

Bondi said that all of the fentanyl pills were stamped as oxycodone and came in various strengths.

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She praised the DEA agents who took part in the swoop and said they face danger every day while trying to rid the streets of illicit drugs. 

Bondi described fentanyl as a weapon of “mass destruction” and laid down a stern warning to drug-pushers looking to distribute the potentially deadly drug throughout the nation. 

“When we catch you like all of these individuals, if convicted, we will put you behind bars. There will be no negotiating and we will lock you up for as long as humanly possible,” Bondi said. “We will not negotiate with those who are killing our family members, including brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, parents, friends, everyone in this room.”

Bondi added that she has no desire to send the illegal migrants back to Mexico.

“The amount of drugs, the amount of money, the amount of weapons most of these individuals [had], if convicted, will remain in American prisons. Perhaps Alcatraz.”

Trump transportation boss calls out Biden admin in scathing online post

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called out the Biden administration for allegedly neglecting a government agency’s report about the poor state of the air traffic control system.

In an X post on Tuesday, Duffy shared an excerpt from a report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled “Air Traffic Control: FAA Actions Are Urgently Needed to Modernize Aging Systems.” The report was published on Sept. 24, 2024.

“A government watchdog warned Biden & Buttigieg about the failing air traffic control system,” Duffy wrote. 

“Look at this report. They knew the air traffic control system was strained AND STILL DID NOTHING!”

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Duffy went on to say that he was working with President Donald Trump to modernize the system.

“Working with @POTUS, we are going to do what no administration has done: deliver an all-new, envy of the world ATC system,” he concluded.

In the passage that Duffy highlighted, the report noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “has been slow to modernize some of the most critical and at-risk systems.” 

“Specifically, when considering age, sustainability ratings, operational impact level, and expected date of modernization or replacement for each system, as of May 2024, FAA had 17 systems that were especially concerning,” the report said. 

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“The 17 systems range from as few as 2 years old to as many as 50 years old, are unsustainable, and are critical to the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.”

Duffy’s comments came amid several chaotic events concerning U.S. air space in recent days. Newark Liberty International Airport, a major travel hub in the New York City metropolitan area, has suffered hundreds of delays and cancellations since last week. 

On Monday, a damning report found that FAA air traffic controllers in Philadelphia briefly lost radar and radio signals while guiding planes to Newark Airport last week.

Duffy appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The Story” on Tuesday to discuss the developments, telling host Martha MacCallum that the last presidential administration was aware of the issues.

“It wasn’t shocking to Joe Biden and it wasn’t shocking to Pete Buttigieg,” Duffy said. “They knew we had an old system. They saw the GAO report saying it was about to fail.”

The government official went on to say that he plans to introduce legislation to Congress about the issue shortly.

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“[In January] I started digging into the FAA and realized it wasn’t just one small part of the infrastructure. It was the whole infrastructure that had to be built brand new,” Duffy explained. “And so I’ve developed a plan. I’ve talked to the president. He has signed off on the plan.”

Women outraged, ‘shocked’ after unknowingly facing trans competitor during swim meet

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), a competitive swimming membership organization with over 60,000 adult swimmers, was thrust into national controversy last week after reports surfaced that a trans swimmer won five women’s events. 

USMS confirmed to Fox News Digital it is currently conducting an eligibility review in response to a request from a competitor at the meet. 

Louisiana woman and long-time swimmer Wendy Enderle said she filed the request for an eligibility review after finding out that one of the competitors she has faced for years was transgender, via a news article stemming from last week’s incident.

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“I feel betrayed. Plain and simple,” Enderle told Fox News Digital. 

Enderle most recently competed against the trans athlete at the USMS Spring National Championship in San Antonio April 26-27. The trans athlete, Ana Caldas, won gold in five races, including in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle in the 45-49 age bracket against Enderle. 

Enderle first ever saw Caldas in person in February 2024 at the World Aquatics Masters World Championships women’s 50m freestyle in Doha, Qatar. Enderle finished with a time of 29.19, while Caldas finished in 27.91.

However, Enderle said she did not directly introduce herself to Caldas until a USMS meet in Little Rock, Arkansas, in January. Upon meeting Caldas, Enderle noticed the athlete’s muscles and height, but still assumed Caldas was biologically female. 

“I knew there was something, but I didn’t know what, I had no idea she was a trans female up until this past Wednesday after the meet,” Enderle said. “I was shocked… It makes me concerned, it makes me mad.” 

Enderle submitted her request for an eligibility review against Caldas this past week. One of the main goals of that decision is to keep Caldas from competing in this year’s World Aquatics Masters World Championships in Singapore. 

“I don’t think it’s right that she was competing in the women’s category, and I don’t believe that she should be competing in the women’s category this August in Singapore,” Enderle said. 

“I’m not trying to keep Ana, I’m not trying to keep anyone else from competing. I have nothing against trans individuals, I have nothing against LGBTQ individuals. But I believe in fairness in sports and I don’t believe that men should participate in women’s sports. I don’t think it’s fair.” 

Fellow USMS women’s swimmer Angie Griffin also swam with Caldas last week without knowledge of Caldas’ birth gender.

The shock of learning the news about Caldas prompted Griffin to write a formal letter of complaint to USMS. The letter also requested the organization to “re-evaluate” that recent Spring National Championship and completely overhaul its current gender eligibility policy. 

Griffin competed against Caldas in three races and finished behind the trans athlete in the 50-yard breastroke and 100-yard individual medley.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about how the integrity of individual competition had been compromised Why doesn’t USMS follow the same competitive standards as the rest of the world and NCAA? Why are athletes asked to accept less transparency and fairness?” Griffin told Fox News Digital “I paid my entry fees, airfare, and hotel, trusting I’d be competing in a women’s division defined by biological sex. I deserved to know the truth before stepping onto the blocks.”

Griffin’s team did beat Caldas’ team in the Women’s 45+ 200 Free Relay, but Griffin still walked away from the incident feeling concerned. 

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“Reflecting on the meet, that one high point of winning the relay didn’t erase the larger concern,” Griffin said. 

While USMS is currently conducting an eligibility review based on the San Antonio meet, the organization admitted it has never disqualified a swimmer based on gender identity. 

“USMS has not disqualified a swimmer from official recognition based on gender eligibility after an event,” the organization told Fox News Digital. 

USMS gender eligibility policy states that swimmers who identify as transgender are not required to provide documentation on eligibility to participate, until a request for review is made. Still, the organization said that documentation verification is rare. 

“If a review request is filed, our eligibility panel — composed of member leaders and subject matter experts — follows a structured, confidential process to determine whether the athlete meets the criteria for official recognition. This includes reviewing documentation the swimmer provides following our published policy,” USMS said. 

“Cases that require documentation are extremely rare, and we follow a structured process in line with our published rules and policy. This protects athlete privacy and ensures the same standard applies to every swimmer.”

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USMS policy allows transgender swimmers to participate in the gender competition category in which they identify, and they may also be recognized for accomplishments, if certain conditions are met. 

One of the two conditions requires that a hormonal therapy appropriately be administered continuously and uninterrupted in a verifiable manner for no less than one year. The other condition is proof of testosterone serum levels measured during the last twelve months being below five nmol/L (144.25 ng/dL).

Trans swimmers who do not meet those requirements can still participate in the women’s category, but their times are removed from the submitted results, and they are not eligible for official times, places, points, records, Top 10 or other forms of official recognition.