SCOTUS allows trans military ban to go into effect as courts review cases
The Supreme Court of the United States is seen on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
On May 6, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower court's pause on President Donald Trump's transgender military ban, allowing it to go into effect as lawsuits move through the federal courts.
The Supreme Court's one-paragraph order did not give a reason for the court's decision. It noted that Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elana Kagan and Kentaji Brown-Jackson dissented.
For now, SCOTUS's order clears the way for the Defense Department to remove transgender service members from the military.
"No More Trans @ DoD," Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on X shortly after the order was released.
The ban stems from Trump's Jan. 27 executive order which said "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" and is harmful to military readiness.
On Feb. 26, the Pentagon issued a memo directing the military to remove and bar transgender service members. Active trans service members filed two lawsuits against the policy, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Washington state.
U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee in Washington, D.C., on March 18paused the ban's implementation nationwide. But March 27, following the Trump administration's appeal, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an administrative stay temporarily reversing the lower court's pause.
On the same day in Washington state, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle, a George W. Bush appointee, issued another nationwide pause on the ban in a separate lawsuit, again halting its implementation as litigation progressed.
After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration's appeal in the Washington state case, the Trump administration requested that the Supreme Court intervene. The SCOTUS decision lifted the Washington state district court's pause.
With injunctions lifted or paused in both the Washington, D.C., and Washington state cases, the ban is in effect for now. But the future of Trump's policy remains uncertain as courts weigh the merits of the cases.
