Donald Trump’s crusade against transgender people has got a new update. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to enforce its transgender military ban. The court granted an emergency request to lift a nationwide injunction blocking the policy while legal challenges continue. The Supreme Court’s brief order also noted that the three liberal justices disagreed.
According to the data of the Department of Defense, there are just over 4,000 transgender people who are currently serving in the U.S. military. However, some activists claim that the figure is much higher, as the nation has around 2.1 million active service members in total.
DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted, “No more trans @DoD.” Earlier Tuesday, in a separate Defense Department post, he said, “No more dudes in dresses. We are done with that s—.” His video comment came before the Supreme Court decision was issued.
Navy commander Emily Shilling has sued to block the implementation of the ban. On Tuesday, she gave a statement: “Transgender service members have served this nation with courage, skill, and selflessness for years.” “We’ve flown combat missions, led sailors, commanded troops, and stood watch. We are not a theory. We are not in a policy debate. We are real people, doing real jobs, in defense of a nation we still believe in, even when it struggles to believe in us.”
She added, “I know this decision will cause fear and doubt in the ranks. To those feeling shaken, I say this: stand tall. You are not alone. You are part of a community that will fight for you, stand beside you, and never stop pushing forward.”
Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which represent the seven plaintiffs in the case, also made a joint statement. The organizations lamented that the court decision was a “devastating blow” to transgender people serving in the military.
They added that the policy “has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice.”
Commander Emily Shilling’s plea to President Trump.. pic.twitter.com/fHvqwCBwBu
— 🇺🇸 🇷🇺 🏴☠️👁️ (@SharronMcKenna5) January 31, 2025
Meanwhile, the litigation continues. A Washington D.C. judge also blocked the policy nationwide. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has temporarily halted the ruling, as it awaits arguments on whether to block the policy more permanently.
A similar proposal was also in effect during Donald Trump‘s first term. However, the one announced in February is much more comprehensive. Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s court papers say that the ban “generally disqualifies from military service individuals who have gender dysphoria or have undergone medical interventions for gender dysphoria.”
To put the ban into effect, the Trump admin relied on a Pentagon report from the Republican leader’s first term. It said that people with gender dysphoria are a threat to “military effectiveness and lethality.”
Today, SCOTUS allowed the Trump admin to begin implementing Trump’s anti-transgender military ban.
Under it, the Pentagon almost certainly will quickly begin kicking trans people out of the military for no reason other than their being transgender. https://t.co/HcwlnFzg2B
— Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) May 7, 2025
The lawyers challenging the new policy argued that the ban violates the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, as it states that laws and other constitutional provisions apply equally to everyone. The challengers said in court papers that transgender service members have proved in recent years that they can serve just like others. “An unprecedented degree of animus towards transgender people animates and permeates the ban: it is based on the shocking proposition that transgender people do not exist,” the challengers wrote.
On March 27, shortly after the policy was announced, a federal judge in Washington state blocked it, citing “it is not an especially close question.” When the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put the ruling on hold, the Trump administration was prompted to turn to the Justices.
