The Supreme Court gave the Trump Administration the ability to start enforcing a ban on transgender people from serving in the military May 6, which was previously blocked by the lower courts. Despite the ruling, the legal challenges against the barring will continue to move forward.
The case is related to one of the many executive orders that Donald Trump issued while transitioning back to the White House, specifically spotlighting two transgender individuals.
The executive order made on Trump’s first day revoked the previous order made by President Joe Biden that allowed transgender service members to serve openly. A week later, a second order was issued, which states “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle.”
There was no reason given by the Supreme Court justices for the emergency application submitted by Trump’s Justice department, which is typical in fast-moving cases. The court’s three liberal members, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, also provided no reason in their dissents to the ruling.
After implementing the orders between January and February, a new policy was put into place, requiring the military branches to separate currently serving members with an honorable discharge. According to official counts, about 0.2 percent of the military, amounting to around 4,200 service members, are transgender.
The executive order was previously blocked this past March by Judge Benjamin H. Settle of the Federal District Court in Tacoma, Washington. At the time, Judge Settle had issued a nationwide injunction, effectively blocking the ban while using one of the plaintiffs, Cmdr. Emily Shilling, in his argument.
“There is no claim and no evidence that she is now, or ever was, a detriment to her unit’s cohesion, or to the military’s lethality or readiness, or that she is mentally or physically unable to continue her service,” Judge Settle wrote. “There is no claim and no evidence that Shilling herself is dishonest or selfish, or that she lacks humility or integrity. Yet absent an injunction, she will be promptly discharged solely because she is transgender.”
Judge Settle, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, then took aim squarely at the government, stating that it had failed to show that the ban was “substantially related to achieving unit cohesion, good order or discipline.”
“Although the court gives deference to military decision-making,” the judge added, “it would be an abdication to ignore the government’s flat failure to address plaintiffs’ uncontroverted evidence that years of open transgender service promoted these objectives.”
Lawyers for the challengers reacted with dismay toward Tuesday’s ruling.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a devastating blow to transgender service members who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense,” opponents of the ban said in a statement from Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.