A major win at the beginning of Pride Month came as a three-panel court blocked the Pentagon‘s transgender troops from being fired from the U.S. military. According to the new court ruling, the Pentagon cannot fire transgender service members from the military. However, this won’t affect the ban on new troops wanting to enlist.

Two of the three judges on a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against the Pentagon’s policy. They called it “arbitrary and based upon animus.” Following the policy would have violated the service members’ rights. Several transgender service members sued the Trump administration after the policy was unveiled. The ruling came from that lawsuit.

The two judges also agreed on another point. They said last year’s removal of transgender service members from the military ranks was unconstitutional. One of the judges, Judge Robert Wilkins, was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Wilkins wrote, “(the policy) appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender.”

The judge nominated by Donald Trump, Justin Walker, disagreed. He noted that ruling against the Pentagon’s policy would amount to an “unprecedented intrusion into the internal operations of the armed forces.”

Pentagon chief and the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, went ahead with the ban on transgender people serving in the army in May 2025. Trump implemented the ban policy when he started his second term as president.

As a result, thousands of transgender service members were moved and fired from the department. During his first term, Trump placed this ban. It was removed when Joe Biden took office in 2021.

In March 2025, a federal judge placed a hold on the policy, claiming it “soaked in animus and dripping with pretext.” However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the policy two months later.

A federal judge in March 2025 put the policy on hold, calling it “soaked in animus and dripping with pretext,” but the Supreme Court ruled two months later that it could go into effect.

The same may happen as Hegseth posted on X, “See you at SCOTUS.” Last year, he also noted that people with gender dysphoria are not capable of meeting the strict standards necessary for military service. This was his attempt to remove “woke” policies from the U.S. military.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Levi from GLAD Law, an LGBTQ rights group, welcomed the decision. She is also representing the plaintiffs in the case. Levi wrote in a statement, “This decisive ruling confirms that the Trump Administration has no legitimate basis to discharge transgender service members who have met every demanding standard and proven, time and again, their fitness and dedication to serve.”

The official numbers of trans service members were reported to be 4,200, but it might be 15,000 according to some trans rights advocates. There were mixed comments under the post. One X user commented, “Now the judges think they run the military. This is beyond insane. Why have a government at all?”

Another one posted, “Incredible how low-life nobody democrats appointed judges are ordering the president of the USA how to run the military.” An LGBTQ ally commented, “People should be allowed to serve their country regardless of identity if they qualify. Taking this to SCOTUS just to enforce a ban feels entirely unnecessary.”

Another one posted, “If male and female are equal, it doesn’t matter if someone is transgender because they are still male or female. And if male and female are equally qualified to serve, so is the transgender.”