The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to uphold its policy barring transgender Americans from serving in the military, in the latest major legal battle involving transgender rights to reach the conservative-leaning court.
The administration is appealing a ruling by a federal court in Washington, DC, which sided with a group of transgender service members who were already serving in the military.
Shortly after returning to office last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to prevent transgender people from serving in the armed forces, arguing that their service was incompatible with military requirements.
US Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to intervene, describing the military’s authority to determine who is eligible to serve as a matter of “exceptional importance.”
The Supreme Court is expected to decide in the fall whether it will hear the case. If the justices agree to take it up, a ruling could come as early as next summer.
Defense officials have said approximately 4,240 service members across the active-duty, reserve and National Guard ranks have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The condition refers to psychological distress that may occur when a person’s gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. However, not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria.
The case comes amid a series of legal setbacks for transgender Americans at the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, the court ruled 6-3 to uphold state restrictions preventing transgender students from competing on girls’ sports teams.
In another 6-3 decision last year, the justices allowed a Tennessee law restricting puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors seeking gender transition to remain in effect.
Trump made opposition to transgender rights a prominent part of his 2024 presidential campaign and has since introduced several policies aimed at reversing protections and gains made by transgender Americans in recent years.
During his first term, Trump also imposed a ban on transgender people serving in the military. The policy was later reversed by former President Joe Biden in 2021.
Trump’s renewed military policy reached the Supreme Court last year through an emergency appeal. The justices allowed the administration to enforce the ban while the broader legal challenge continued, without explaining the reasoning behind the decision. The court’s three liberal justices publicly dissented but did not issue detailed explanations.
Since then, however, lower courts have issued rulings restricting the administration’s policy.
In June, a divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld an injunction blocking the policy from being enforced against 28 service members who had challenged it in court.
Advocates for transgender service members have accused the administration of aggressively pursuing the removal of other transgender personnel from the military.
