The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday allowing the enforcement of a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. The ruling sides with the Trump administration after lower federal courts found the ban violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause and attempted to impose an injunction against its implementation.
The court’s order allows the Trump administration to proceed with the ban while the litigation process continues through the lower courts. The Supreme Court’s response was an emergency order that did not provide reasoning but did include dissent from the three liberal justices.
During his first presidential term, Trump introduced limitations on transgender military service. The current ban is more expansive, and states explicitly that the expression of a false gender identity is incongruent with the standards necessary for military service.
The “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” Order was issued upon Trump’s return to office and refutes the promotion of transgender ideology embraced by the Biden administration. According to the Order, the U.S. military forces have been “afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion.”
The order’s stated purpose is to promote a “singular focus” on military excellence rather than prioritizing radical political ideologies that may be “harmful to unit cohesion.”
The ban faced multiple legal challenges from judges who classified it as unconstitutional, including Washington D.C. District Judge Ana Reyes and Seattle District Judge Benjamin Settle. A preliminary injunction was issued in March, preventing the Trump administration from identifying and removing transgender military members during the litigation process. The administration filed an appeal to stay the order, which was denied by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In its argument to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration argued that delaying the enforcement of the order could compromise U.S. military readiness. The Tuesday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision and allow the Trump administration to implement the policy set forth in the Order as the legal challenges proceed through the lower federal court system.
