Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin To Enforce Transgender Military Ban

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Tuesday to enforce its transgender military ban.

In a 6-3 decision, the majority granted the administration’s request to halt a lower court’s ruling preventing the policy from taking effect.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the administration’s request, according to the order.

In its application, the administration argued that the lower court’s injunction “cannot be squared with the substantial deference that the Department’s professional military judgments are owed.”

“It is undisputed that gender dysphoria is a medical condition associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote April 24.

Judge Benjamin H. Settle, a George W. Bush appointee, found in a March 27 decision that the transgender service members and activist group who challenged the ban were likely to succeed on their claims.

“Because the military has operated smoothly for four years under the Austin Policy, any claimed hardship it may face in the meantime pales in comparison to the hardships imposed on transgender service members and otherwise qualified transgender accession candidates, tipping the balance of hardships sharply toward plaintiffs,” Settle wrote. “There can be few matters of greater public interest in this country than protecting the constitutional rights of its citizens.”

The Department of Defense (DOD) updated its policy in February to state that individuals with gender dysphoria do not meet “the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”