A transgender woman and National Guard employee is suing the Trump administration for its discriminatory bathroom policy that has significantly affected her quality of life while at work.LeAnne Withrow served in the Illinois National Guard for 13 years and is now a civilian employee in the State Family Programs Office. Until Donald Trumps January executive order denying all federal recognition of trans people, Withrow had never had a problem using womens restrooms at work. Now, she barely eats or drinks all day to avoid having to use the facilities. Related University punishes trans educator for discrimination after student calls her demonic Withrow told Advocate that she often skips both breakfast and lunch and avoids water as much as possible, surviving her work days on a single granola bar or a spoonful of peanut butter. While there is a single-user restroom in the building where she works, many of the other buildings she visits on a regular basis do not have one. I know that I have to operate within the bounds of the policies as they currently exist, and I intend to do my job well and fully. And so, in order to do that, Im making that sacrifice, she said. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today After nothing came of filing complaints with both the Army National Guard Bureau Equal Opportunity Office and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Withrow decided to sue the Trump administration.She filed a class action lawsuit in November, arguing that the trans bathroom ban violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, based on the Supreme Courts 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. The ruling decided that sex discrimination includes discrimination against LGBTQ+ identities. Its a question of human dignity, its a question of equal treatment under the law, and I was not raised to back down from either of those things, she told Advocate.Withrow truly believes in military service. She joined because she truly wanted to give back to the United States and to my community. I always wanted to serve, and it was the privilege of a lifetime to be able to serve in the National Guard for 13 years and do the things that I got to do there, meet the people that I met. But really, it was about service to others, which I think is an important thing for all of us to keep in mind and something we should dedicate a little bit of our time to every day, she said. Even though recruiters told her she could be an astronaut based on her 99th percentile aptitude test results, she began her career as a cook to focus on serving others. She ultimately became a staff sergeant and chief public affairs officer.Withrow came out as trans during the Obama Administration, after then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ended the ban on openly serving in the military as trans. She was grandfathered in during Trumps first-term military ban, and now that she is a civilian employee, the current ban does not apply to her. After initially introducing a trans military ban during his first presidential term which the Biden administration then overturned the president signed an executive order in January called Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, which banned trans people from serving in the military. In February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethissued a memoenforcing the ban and halting gender-affirming care for service members and their families. While the order was contested in the courts, inMay the Supreme Court ruled in May that it could go into effect, and trans troops were given a deadline in June to self-identify for voluntary separation.In January, the administrationordered a shutdown of all federal programs that promote or reflect gender ideology. A cited example of that so-called ideology was allowing trans people to use the facilities that correspond to their genders, effectively banning trans people from using the bathroom on federal property.The directive followed and built on Trumps Day Oneexecutive orderto make it the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female and take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology. Winthrow said having to spend time thinking about bathroom strategies takes away from the important work she does every day. I think that the Family Programs Office has an incredibly important task, and thats taking care of soldiers and their families and veterans, and that mission is the thing I would like to be focusing all my attention on, she said.So its frustrating to realize that I have to logistically plan out which bathroom am I going to be allowed to use today, where Im at, at a given time, instead of just focusing on that mission, she added. She said she also feels added pressure to overperform so that no one can say trans people are not built for the work.Despite the challenge of going to court, Withrow feels optimistic because she believes were doing the right thing. I sort of, in the back of my mind, always believe that the good guy is going to win, she said. And I think were the good guy in this. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.