Transgender troops can remain in US military, but their enlistment may be blocked, court rules | American military

Transgender troops can remain in the U.S. military, but the armed forces can continue to block their enlistment, an appeals court ruled Monday in a split decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for the Trump administration’s anti-diversity agenda.

The divided majority opinion of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., is expected to be challenged by the government. And the case is ultimately expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision could not take effect immediately, giving the administration time to ask the full appeals court to hear the case.

But it is a blunt critique of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s implementation of Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order requiring the removal of hundreds of transgender service members.

Such a ban on transgender people from the military is illegal and “both arbitrary and based on animosity,” Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins wrote in the majority opinion.

Monday’s ruling largely upholds a preliminary injunction issued by District Court Judge Ana Reyes in March 2025, preventing the termination of six active-duty transgender people who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

At the time, Reyes wrote: “The court knows that this opinion will result in heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes.”

“We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect. »

Hegseth said in a social media post that the Trump administration intends to appeal the decision. “See you soon in SCOTUS,” the post read in response to a Fox News reporter’s article about the decision.

Trump’s order asserted that the gender identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a Soldier’s commitment to an honorable, honest, and disciplined lifestyle, even in his or her personal life.” The order also argued that the gender identity of transgender service members harms military readiness.

Hegseth subsequently issued a policy purportedly barring military service to individuals suffering from gender dysphoria, a health condition resulting from a person’s distress related to their feelings regarding their gender identity.

Appeals court judges ruled Monday on the government’s appeal of Reyes’ injunction. They decided to limit its scope to the roughly 1,000 members of the military who openly identify as trans — but not those seeking to enlist.

“In this litigation, the government has not attempted to defend or provide any factual basis for these derogatory characterizations of American citizens,” Wilkins wrote, adding that this policy “appears to be motivated by the simple desire to harm a politically unpopular group: people who identify as transgender.”

Wilkins was appointed to the appeals court by Barack Obama, a former Democratic president.

Dissenting Justice Justin Walker, appointed by Trump during the first Republican presidency, argued that the judiciary did not have the authority or experience to determine who could be barred from the military.

He wrote that only the executive and legislative branches of the federal government “are responsible for system-wide military judgments about the composition of the armed forces.”

“The Supreme Court has never taken on this role for itself,” Walker added. “Neither did the DC circuit. Not until today.”

There was no immediate reaction to the decision from the White House or the Department of Defense.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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