The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military to take effect, a decision that could lead to the discharge of thousands of servicemembers and marks a significant rollback of transgender rights under federal policy.
In a brief, unsigned order typical for emergency applications, the court granted the Justice Department’s request to lift a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge that had blocked the ban from being enforced while litigation continues. The decision came with the court's 6-3 conservative majority voting in favor. Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The ruling reverses a lower court order by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Seattle, who had previously found that the ban likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection and called it “unsupported, dramatic and facially unfair.” Settle concluded that the government had provided no evidence of harm resulting from allowing transgender people to serve openly.
The policy stems from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, shortly after returning to office, which reversed the Obama-era policy reinstated by President Joe Biden allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the armed forces.
Trump’s directive argued that transgender identity is incompatible with the requirements of military service, claiming that it reflects a “falsehood” and that individuals with gender dysphoria lack the qualities of “humility and selflessness” needed in the military.
Following the executive order, the Pentagon issued guidance disqualifying current servicemembers and applicants diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who have undergone gender transition procedures. While waivers are allowed in limited cases deemed essential to “warfighting capabilities,” the policy imposes sweeping restrictions.
The lawsuit challenging the ban was filed by seven active-duty transgender troops, a transgender man seeking to enlist, and a civil rights organization. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had earlier declined to pause Judge Settle’s injunction, prompting the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department argued that the injunction unlawfully restricted the executive branch’s authority over military policy and ignored the “substantial deference” typically afforded to the Pentagon’s judgments on personnel matters.
The decision adds to a growing list of measures under Trump aimed at curtailing transgender rights. These include orders to recognize only two legal sexes, eliminate federal funding for gender-affirming care, and ban transgender girls and women from competing in female sports.
The Supreme Court is also expected to rule by June in a separate high-profile case involving the legality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which could further shape the national legal landscape for transgender rights.
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