The US Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Trump administration the go-ahead to implement its ban on transgender troops serving in the military, reversing a nationwide injunction by a lower court. This is a major step in Donald Trump’s wider effort to curtail transgender rights throughout his current presidential term.
The unsigned ruling of the court normal procedure in emergency actions is a reversal of a ruling by US District Judge Benjamin Settle, who had halted the policy on constitutional grounds, citing possible violations of the equal protection clause in the Fifth Amendment. The court’s liberal-leaning three justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson publicly disagreed with the ruling. Although the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the legality of the policy, the case proceeds in lower courts.
Trump’s January executive order overturned a policy established by former President Joe Biden that permitted transgender people to serve openly. The Pentagon subsequently issued guidance excluding those diagnosed with gender dysphoria or those who have had gender transition, although waivers could be issued in certain cases.
Critics say Trump’s order makes transgender identity a lie and incompatible with serving in the military. Plaintiffs, including current active-duty transgender members and advocacy organizations, say the ban is discriminatory and denies the reality of transgender people’s existence.
The policy comes after Trump’s previous efforts to bar transgender participation in the military during his first term, which the Supreme Court partly upheld in 2019.
Trump has also signed executive orders restricting federal funding for gender-affirming care and restricting gender recognition beyond male and female.
Two other federal judges had also halted the policy, but the Supreme Court’s recent order permits enforcement pending continued legal challenges. The justices also are poised to decide soon on another high-profile case about bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Tennessee, further highlighting transgender rights within the US judiciary.
