As well as preventing the discharge of serving trans military personnel, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling will block enforcement of the ban while several lawsuits taken by LGBT+ rights organisations and trans service members proceed through the court system, reports The Guardian.

Kollar-Kotelly said the ban is a potential violation of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution which guarantees citizens the right to due process of law, adding that the eight plaintiffs in the case – all members of military academies or the ROTC – would likely succeed based on the merits of their case.

“We are enormously relieved for our plaintiffs and other transgender service members,” Shannon Minter, head of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, one of several groups who took the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, told the AP. “Their lives have been devastated since Trump first tweeted he was reinstating the ban. They are now able to serve on equal terms with everyone else.”

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

On July 26, Trump announced via Twitter that following consultation with “experts” the US military would not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity.

In 2016, under President Obama the Pentagon announced plans to repeal the ban on trans service people, with new enlistments to begin on July 1 2017. However, this was later indefinitely postponed by the Trump administration.

However, Monday’s ruling means that trans people can now enlist from January 1. It also means that trans service members can receive all necessary health care, including transition-related procedures.