Judge fired after defying Trump’s anti-trans directives speaks out: ‘The point is to stay human’.
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A judge who was fired after defying US president Donald Trump’s anti-trans directives has said she’s “seriously” considering running for office.
In an interview with Marie Claire, administrative judge Karen Ortiz opened up about being fired from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after she opposed an agency directive to deprioritise cases involving gender identity discrimination.
The directive was issued in response to Trump’s executive order that states that the US will only recognise “male” and “female” and these that are “unchangeable”.
In an email that went viral, Ortiz described the anti-trans measure as “unethical” and “unlawful”.
Following this, the 53-year-old was fired for “unprofessional” conduct, with the EEOC citing internal messages she had sent criticising leadership and warning of a growing “hostile environment” for LGBTQ+ complainants.
In April, a not-for-profit group warned that legislation aimed at the LGBTQ+ community has become more “extreme” and is only getting worse under Donald Trump.
‘I don’t stay quiet when I see harm being done’
Ortiz, who is challenging her termination by pursing her own legal claims of whistleblower retaliation and discrimination, has said she was fired for refusing to stay silent. “I may be an introvert, but I don’t stay quiet when I see harm being done,” she said of her decision to take legal action. She has said she would also like “a public apology from the EEOC for the harm done to trans and non-binary communities—and to me”.
In the interview, Ortiz said that in a second email sent to acting chair Andrea Lucas, she essentially said, “I will not compromise my ethics.” She added: “I knew the risks. But I couldn’t stay silent.”
She notes that although people in her civil rights line of work remained silent, she has received support from the trans and queer communities which has lifted her up. “It’s about all of us,” she said.
‘The point is to stay human’
