Trump administration ban on transgender troops illegal, appeals court rules
A member of the US military stands outside the William B. Bryant Annex of the US Courthouse in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2025, as a hearing is held for the court to consider a preliminary injunction requested by a group of transgender service m
An appellate court ruled the Trump administration violated the constitutional rights of transgender members of the U.S. military by barring them from serving.
Big picture view:
The ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit largely upholds a lower court’s finding that President Donald Trump’s executive order illegally banned transgender troops. The ruling will not go into effect immediately in order to allow time for the Trump administration to request the full appellate court take the case.
Dig deeper:
The appeals court did narrow a preliminary injunction ordered in March 2025 by U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes that covered six transgender people currently serving as well as two other individuals who wanted to enlist. The higher court limited the injunction to the six who are already serving but not those who want to join the military.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban to go into effect last year as the plaintiffs' challenge worked its way through the courts. Another lawsuit in Washington state also resulted in a win for those challenging the executive order.
The backstory:
Trump signed the executive order soon after returning to the White House. In the order, he described the sexual identity of transgender service members as "conflict[ing] with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life."
What they're saying:
Writing for the majority, Judge Robert Wilkins, who was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama, claimed the policy "appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender."
The other side:
Judge Justin Walker, who was appointed by Trump, argued in his dissent that the courts do not have the power to second-guess the executive order, writing, "We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks. The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.