In a significant and controversial move, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate its ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military. The decision, issued without a detailed explanation, lifts a lower court injunction that had blocked the ban’s enforcement, effectively permitting the military to discharge transgender service members and reject new transgender recruits, at least for now.
This marks the second time during Trump’s political tenure that the nation’s highest court has intervened to allow the controversial policy to proceed while litigation plays out. The ruling follows a renewed push by Trump officials, who in late April filed an emergency request to lift the nationwide block that had been imposed by a federal judge in Washington state. That judge, Benjamin Settle, called the policy a “de facto blanket prohibition” designed “to eradicate transgender service.”
The current legal challenge was filed by seven active-duty transgender service members and one transgender individual who wishes to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. Their legal representatives, Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, called the Supreme Court’s decision “a devastating blow,” arguing that the policy is rooted in bias, not facts. “By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” the groups said in a joint statement.
The Trump administration has defended the ban as a “medical” policy rooted in concerns about the impact of gender dysphoria — a condition commonly associated with transgender individuals — on unit cohesion and operational effectiveness. Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the military must prioritize “readiness and lethality.” Yet, multiple lower courts have found scant evidence supporting these claims, and critics argue the rationale is pretextual.
According to the Department of Defense, at least 4,200 active-duty service members have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria — the military’s metric for identifying transgender personnel. However, advocacy organizations estimate the true number of transgender troops could be closer to 15,000.
President Biden reversed the ban in 2021, allowing transgender individuals to serve openly and with full recognition. Since then, many have served without issue, providing what critics of the ban say is strong evidence against the policy’s necessity. The current reversal by the Supreme Court does not represent a final judgment but allows enforcement while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals continues to review the broader constitutional case.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, indicating they would have denied the administration’s request for a stay. Their dissent underscores the court’s ideological divide on the issue and the broader questions of equal protection and military authority.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during a February visit to Stuttgart, Germany, was asked directly by a U.S. service member why “four exceptional transgender soldiers” with whom he’d served needed to be removed. Hegseth responded by reiterating the administration’s focus on “readiness and deployability,” suggesting the policy stems from operational concerns — a position that continues to face significant public and internal military scrutiny.
As the legal proceedings move forward, the fate of thousands of transgender service members hangs in the balance. While the Supreme Court has now opened the door for renewed enforcement, the final outcome may ultimately hinge on a future ruling — one that could either cement the ban or strike it down on constitutional grounds.
