The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can begin enforcing its ban on transgender people in the military, even as lawsuits against the policy are still ongoing.
In a 6-3 decision, the Court sided with the administration’s request to lift lower court rulings that had blocked the ban. The policy had been challenged by multiple federal judges, including U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle, who ruled in favor of transgender service members earlier this year.
Settle, a George W. Bush appointee and former Army JAG officer, stated that there was no evidence to support the administration’s claims that openly serving transgender troops harmed military readiness.
Despite those rulings, the high court’s decision clears the way for the Department of Defense to begin implementing restrictions on transgender military service. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed all military branches to create plans within 30 days to identify and remove transgender service members currently in uniform.
The policy bans individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria from enlisting or continuing service, arguing that the condition is incompatible with the mental and physical standards required for military duty. In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department claimed that the lower court injunctions failed to give appropriate weight to military leadership’s judgment.
The justices’ ruling revealed a familiar divide. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, stating they would have left the injunctions in place. The administration’s position gained support from two appellate court judges appointed by Trump, who previously signaled they were inclined to favor the ban.
Critics argue the move reverses years of stable integration of transgender individuals in the armed forces. For the past four years, transgender troops had served openly under the Austin Policy, adopted during Trump’s first term. In his ruling, Judge Settle noted that allowing the ban to proceed causes far greater hardship to those affected than any potential challenge it poses to military operations.
A separate case in New Jersey temporarily halted the Air Force from discharging two transgender men, citing irreparable harm to their careers and reputations. But with the Supreme Court’s new ruling, the broader ban is now active across all military branches.
President Trump announced the original plan shortly after beginning his second term in January, issuing an executive order that questioned the compatibility of transgender identity with military values. The policy states that a transgender person’s identity “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.”
Legal proceedings will continue in lower courts, but for now, the administration has the green light to enforce the ban across the armed services.