US appeals court blocks discharge of transgender troops but allows enlistment ban to stand

A split decision from the DC Circuit

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling on Monday that partially upholds and partially narrows a lower court's injunction. The majority found that the Trump administration's policy barring transgender people from military service was unlawfully motivated "by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group." However, the court also concluded that the Pentagon has broad authority to set enlistment standards, and therefore allowed the ban on new transgender recruits to remain in effect pending the outcome of the underlying lawsuit.

It appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a military career than to delay the start of one.

Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, wrote the majority opinion, joined in part by Judge Judith Rogers, a Clinton appointee. The ruling does not take immediate effect, giving the government time to ask the full appeals court to rehear the case.

The dissenting view

Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing that courts lack the expertise and authority to second-guess military personnel decisions. He wrote that the Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander-in-Chief.

We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks.

Origins of the ban

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 asserting that adopting a transgender identity "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently implemented a policy presumptively disqualifying people with gender dysphoria from military service. The order argued that transgender service members' identities were harmful to military readiness.

Legal battle so far

In March 2025, District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction blocking the entire policy, ruling that it amounted to sex discrimination and likely violated the Constitution's equal protection guarantee. The government appealed, and Monday's ruling narrows Reyes's injunction to cover only the estimated 1,000 currently serving transgender troops, not those seeking to enlist. The Supreme Court has previously allowed the administration to enforce the ban while appeals proceed, but has not yet ruled on its constitutionality.

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.

Broader context

The military ban is part of a wider Trump administration effort to roll back recognition and accommodations for transgender people across American life. Federal agencies have dropped lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers, ended settlements benefiting transgender students, and launched investigations into hospitals and doctors providing gender-affirming care. The case is expected to ultimately reach the US Supreme Court.