The administration of US President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to uphold its policy barring transgender Americans from serving in the military, setting up another major legal battle over transgender rights before the conservative-leaning court.
The administration is appealing a ruling by a federal court in Washington, DC, which blocked the policy after a group of transgender service members challenged the ban.
Shortly after returning to office last year, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to prohibit 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 eligibility for service as a matter of “exceptional importance,” according to the administration’s appeal.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide in the coming months whether it will hear the case. If the justices accept the appeal, a ruling could come as early as next summer.
Defense officials have identified about 4,240 service members across active-duty, reserve and National Guard forces with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The condition refers to psychological distress associated with a difference between an individual’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth, although not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria.
The latest legal challenge comes amid a series of setbacks for transgender Americans at the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the court upheld state restrictions barring transgender students from competing on girls’ sports teams.
In another 6-3 decision last year, the justices allowed Tennessee’s restrictions on 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 a series of policies aimed at reversing protections and policies adopted under previous administrations.
The president also imposed a transgender military service ban during his first term. Former President Joe Biden reversed the policy in 2021, allowing transgender Americans to serve openly in the armed forces.
Trump’s current military policy reached the Supreme Court last year in an emergency appeal, when the justices allowed the administration to enforce the ban while litigation continued. The court did not provide an explanation for the decision, while the three liberal justices publicly dissented.
Since then, lower courts have issued rulings limiting the administration’s policy. In June, a divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld an injunction protecting 28 transgender service members who had challenged the ban.
Advocacy groups say the administration has continued efforts to remove other transgender service members from the military despite ongoing legal challenges.
