The US Supreme Court has approved the Trump administration’s request to immediately enforce its ban on trans people serving in the military. Issued on Tuesday, May 6, the ruling lifts a nationwide preliminary injunction that was preventing the executive order from taking effect.

The Pentagon will now be allowed to begin discharging service members with a diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, as well as denying enlistment to transgender people. 

The original executive order was signed by Donald Trump on January 27. It mandated the Defense Department to update its requirements within 60 days and ban trans Americans from serving in the military, as the President claimed the armed forces have been “afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists”.

However, in March, federal judge Ana Reyes in Washington, DC, temporarily blocked the order, ruling it a likely violation of constitutional rights. The preliminary injunction prevented the ban from taking effect while the case proceeded, prompting the Trump administration to file an emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which was denied. The administration then submitted an emergency application to the Supreme Court in April, leading to this latest ruling allowing the enforcement of the trans military ban.

Responding to the situation, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis stated: “Today’s news is a disgrace for all Americans, especially transgender service members who have been serving openly and honorably for many years. Allowing this discriminatory ban to go into effect is out of step with the views of the American people, compromises military readiness, and will make America less safe. America’s brave service members and their families deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

 

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Similarly, Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which were involved in securing a preliminary injunction blocking the ban, collectively described the ruling as a “devastating blow” to trans people. 

“By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice. Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same values as all who serve.

“We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down,” they concluded.