Supreme Court Lets Trump’s ‘Transgender Military Ban’ Take Effect
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can enforce its ban on “transgender” troops serving in the U.S. military while lawsuits against it play out in the federal courts.
In a brief, unsigned opinion on Tuesday, the Court stayed a federal district court’s preliminary injunction which had prohibited the military from disqualifying individuals who have gender dysphoria from military service.
Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson would have denied the application for a stay.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling, writing on X, “Another MASSIVE victory in the Supreme Court!”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responded to her statement, writing, “We will restore the warrior ethos at the DOD.”
The ruling comes after President Trump issued an executive order on Monday, January 27, banning “transgender” troops from serving in the military and ending the use of “preferred pronouns” in the armed forces.
“Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” the order stated.
“Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
The order declared,
The Pentagon then issued a directive on February 26, 2025, fulfilling the president’s order.
“The Department only recognizes two sexes: male and female,” the directive states. “An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life.”
The directive stipulated the following:
- Individuals with a current diagnosis, or exhibiting symptoms, of gender dysphoria will no longer be eligible for military service.
- Service members with gender dysphoria will be separated from the military.
- All service members will only serve in accordance with their sex.
- Pronoun usage within the military must reflect service members’ sex.
- Sleeping, changing and bathing facilities will be designated based on biological sex.
- The Department of Defense will not pay for transgender medical interventions.
Following that directive, several service members filed lawsuits seeking to block the policy from taking effect.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a universal injunction on March 27, prohibiting the policy from taking effect nationwide.
After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay Judge Settle’s order, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
“The district court issued a universal injunction usurping the Executive Branch’s authority to determine who may serve in the Nation’s armed forces,” argued Solicitor General D. John Sauer. “The district court’s injunction cannot be squared with the substantial deference that the Department’s professional military judgments are owed.”
The Supreme Court has now agreed to stay the injunction while the case plays out in the lower courts.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia likewise issued a universal injunction on March 18, enjoining the policy nationwide. But her injunction has been stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, after the DOJ appealed her decision, while the court considers the appeal more thoroughly.
Just hours before the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday, the defense secretary posted a portion of his remarks from Special Operations Forces week at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
The secretary spoke bluntly about how the Trump administration is actively rooting out leftist ideology from the Pentagon (language warning):
The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday is an important step in reversing the Pentagon’s social engineering of the U.S. military in recent years.
Last fall, 77 million voters raised their voices loud and clear, expressing their desire to end the military’s woke policies. Thankfully, our nation’s highest court is now allowing their voices to be heard.
The case is United States of America v. Emily Shilling.
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Related articles and resources:
Understanding “Transgenderism”
Biden-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Ban on ‘Transgender’ Service Members
Trump Ends ‘Transgenderism’ and DEI in the Military, Reinstates Wrongly Discharged Troops
President Trump to Medically Discharge ‘Trans’ Soldiers
President Biden Reinstates Obama Order Permitting Transgender Troops to Serve Openly in Military
Photo from Getty Images.
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