The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Trump’s trangender military ban can be enforced while legal challenges proceed, effectively barring trans servicemembers from serving in the military.
The 6-3 decision overturned the injunction issued by a U.S. District Court, which prevented the policy from taking place.
In January, Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” saying that transgender troops did not meet the standard required of the armed forces, and directed the Department of Defense to enact a ban.
“A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,” the Executive Order says. Trump signed a similar order during his previous term in 2017, which President Joe Biden reversed four years later.
The decision regarding United States v. Shilling is separate from two other lawsuits that also address the ban: Talbott v. USA and Ireland v. Hegseth, which were filed by the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) in January, under the argument that the order violates equal protection laws.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the military ban to go into effect is devastating for the thousands of qualified transgender servicemembers who have met the standards and are serving honorably, putting their lives on the line for their country every single day,” said GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi. “Today’s decision only adds to the chaos and destruction caused by this administration. It’s not the end of the case, but the havoc it will wreak is devastating and irreparable. History will confirm the weight of the injustice done today.”
The trans military ban is just one of several actions Trump has taken against the transgender community—signing other Executive Orders barring them from updating their gender markers on their federal documents, and threatening to cut federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming-care for minors.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented in the ruling.
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