The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant win on Tuesday, permitting him to exclude transgender individuals from military service.
The court granted the Trump administration’s urgent request to lift a nationwide injunction against the policy. According to NBC News, the court’s order allows the administration to implement the ban while the lawsuit continues.
The temporary injunction will be removed, but the overarching case can still proceed. The order noted, “It is permitted by the application for stay presented to Judge Kagan,” indicating the suspension of an earlier injunction issued by a U.S. District Court.
The ruling means the application was denied by justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Katherine Hamilton from Breitbart News reported that the Trump administration was seeking to maintain the lower court’s ruling against transgender troops. The administration argued that implementation delays could negatively impact military readiness and urged the Supreme Court to intervene. A judge had requested responses from plaintiffs by the following week.
This request aimed to prevent the lawsuit from succeeding in banning transgender forces during the ongoing legal battle after a provisional injunction had been issued by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle.
In March, Judge Settle had paused the lawsuit while preventing the Trump administration from enacting policies against transgender military members, after which the administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which opted not to stay the lower court’s order.
Trump signed an executive order on January 27, 2025, emphasizing military efficiency and readiness. The order set forth various standards for military readiness and conduct.
In the order, it was asserted that the policy conflicts with medical and mental health guidelines for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, particularly relating to the use of pronouns that do not align with one’s gender identity.
Then, on February 7, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses issued an order halting all new access for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, suspending any medical procedures linked to gender transitions.
A Rasmussen poll conducted between January 29 and 30 revealed that 54% of voters were inclined to support Trump’s decision to ban transgender individuals from military service, including 38% who strongly favored the policy. Meanwhile, 41% expressed disapproval of the discharges of transgender military members, with 30% strongly opposing the policy.
