The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Trump administration another victory as it upheld its ban on transgender people serving in the military.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on January 27 prohibiting trans-identified individuals from serving in the US military. The order argued that there were serious concerns over unit cohesion, mental and physical readiness, and the impact on military efficacy. However, critics claim the order unfairly discriminates against trans-identified people.
The Supreme Court’s order places a stay on a preliminary injunction that a lower court imposed against the policy. It further notes that Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the ruling. The stay will remain in effect until the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the White House’s appeal of the lower court’s order.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration's transgender military ban to take effect. pic.twitter.com/qUBz7zYFfX
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 6, 2025
SCOTUS ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration can move forward with a ban on transgender military service members for now, lifting a lower court injunction against the policy. @devindwyer has more. READ: https://t.co/a9URvJNqg3 pic.twitter.com/VqaOCH5N9q
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) May 6, 2025
This isn’t the only case against the policy. NBC News reported:
In a separate case, a judge in Washington, D.C., also blocked the policy nationwide, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put that ruling on hold temporarily while it heard arguments on whether to block it more permanently. The court has yet to rule.
To justify the policy, the administration cited a Pentagon report from Trump’s first term showing that trans-identified people harm “military effectiveness and lethality.”
However, opponents argue that trans-identified people are as capable of serving in the military as anyone else. However, another study, conducted by RAND Corp. in 2016, showed that the inclusion of trans-identified people in the military had no negative impact on military operations.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth supported the policy in a memo, according to The Hill.
“The Department must ensure it is building ‘One Force’ without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence. Efforts to split our troops along the lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable,” Hegseth wrote in a February memo to senior leadership at the Pentagon.
In the same memo, Hegseth ordered the Defense Department to pause gender-affirming medical care for trans service members. A federal judge later struck down Hegseth’s restrictions as unconstitutional, and the Pentagon resumed care last month.
The president, during his first weeks in office, issued other executive orders related to trans-identified individuals, including banning biological males from competing in women's sports and stopping "gender-affirming care" on minors.
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