The U.S. Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to enforce its ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
The White House had asked the high court to lift a lower court’s injunction — a request the justices granted. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have denied the application.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. The order argued that the presence of transgender service members “conflicts with the soldier’s commitment” and harms military readiness.
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In March, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle — a George W. Bush appointee — ruled in favor of transgender service members challenging the policy. He said that discharging them would damage their careers and reputations.
An Obama-era policy implemented in 2016 allowed transgender individuals to serve openly. But during Trump’s first term, he reversed that policy, issuing a ban that allowed exceptions for active-duty service members who had already begun the transitioning process.
When President Joe Biden took office, the ban was rescinded.
Thousands of transgender individuals serve in the military, though they make up less than 1% of total active-duty personnel.
