After months of legal and public pushback, the Supreme Court has allowed Donald Trump’s ban on trans people in the military to go into effect.
A Tuesday (6 May) ruling handed down by the nation’s top court overturned two preliminary injunctions to allow the Trump administration to begin banning trans military personnel.
The order was reportedly unsigned and did not provide an explanation for the judgement, as is common with emergency orders. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson – all Democratic appointed members – noted their dissent from the ruling.
Human rights charities, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Lambda Legal, both of which have spearheaded the pushback on the ban, called the move a “devastating blow” to the trans community and service members.
Donald Trump signed an executive order in January ordering the various arms of the US military and the Department of Defence to declare trans servicemembers “morally unfit” to serve, claiming the armed forces had been “afflicted with radical gender ideology.”
The order declared it the policy of the US Government that trans people did not meet the standards of “lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity” to serve in the military, with no justification to that claim.
Policies subsequently implemented by defence secretary Pete Hegseth in early March ordered military personnel whose gender identity does not correspond with their gender assigned at birth to take a voluntary discharge by the end of the month or face potential disciplinary action.
Two federal judges temporarily blocked those policies shortly before they took effect following a legal challenge from HRC and Lambda Legal. The case was eventually brought to the Supreme Court after the Trump administration tried and failed to overturn the preliminary injunction.
‘A devastating blow’
A spokesperson for HRC and Lambda Legal said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision had “nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice.”
“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a devastating blow to transgender servicemembers who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defence,” they continued.
“Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same value as all who serve. We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down.”
‘No reason to keep me out of the cockpit,’ says trans Iraq veteran
Trump had imposed a ban on transgender servicemembers during his first term in 2016. The ban was reversed following Joe Biden’s election in 2020 through an executive order.
Following Trump’s attempt to reimplement the ban, US District Court judge of Columbia, Ana Reyes – the first judge to temporarily block Trump’s order – argued that it amounted to “executive overreach” and ordered the government to “uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day.”
Iraq veteran, naval commander, and trans woman, Emily Shilling, said in January that banning trans servicemembers would have a significant impact on critical elements of the US’ military readiness.
The aviator, who became the first naval commander to regain flight clearance after undergoing gender-affirming surgery, said that critical roles, including her position as a test pilot and naval commander, would “take decades to fill” despite there being “no reason to keep me out of the cockpit.”
“I did two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, 60 combat missions,” she said. “Later, I went on to be a test pilot, then the meritorious promotions. I have been at the pinnacle of naval aviation. I am proof that we are qualified to serve.”
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