Court blocks removal of transgender troops from U.S. Military; Says it's unconstitutional

A U.S. court of appeals ruled on Monday in a split decision that transgender troops can remain in the U.S. military, but the Pentagon can continue to block their enlistment. The panel ruled that the 2025 policy approved by President Donald Trump's administration was unconstitutional and motivated "by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group," according to the court documents. While the ruling could have significant consequences for the administration’s agenda, it is expected to be challenged before the Supreme Court.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded in a 2-1 ruling that Trump's executive order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights, as it largely upheld a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington. However, the judges decided to narrow the scope of Reyes's injunction to the estimated 1,000 members of the military who openly identify as transgender, excluding those seeking to enlist.

The judges said that the Pentagon board has the authority to set enlistment standards and can continue to block transgender people from enlisting. "It appears to us to be a much greater hardship to ⁠end a military career than to delay the start of one," wrote Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an appointee of former President Barack ​Obama. However, Wilkins added that the banning of transgender people from the military is illegal and “both arbitrary and based on animus". 

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Justin Walker, a Republican who was nominated by Trump, expressed that the judges lack the power to second-guess the decision to exclude transgender troops. "We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks. The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief," wrote Walker. 

The divided, majority opinion is expected to be challenged by the government, and it is ultimately likely to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Responding to the ruling, Hegseth wrote on X: “See you at SCOTUS,” along with a post from Fox News about the ruling.

In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order called “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” in which he described transgender people as unfit for service for embracing a “false ‘gender identity'”. He claimed that the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life," and it hinders military readiness.

Following the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a 13-page Pentagon memorandum, declaring that any service member who has “symptoms” of gender dysphoria, or who has used hormone therapy or surgery to affirm their gender, would be “disqualified from military service”. Gender dysphoria is the distress that people go through when their assigned gender and gender identity don't match, which may lead to depression.