The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump's ban on transgender military personnel to take place, putting thousands of troops at risk of immediate dismissal. The ruling came days after a lower court ordered a preliminary injunction, pausing the new ban amid several legal challenges.
President Trump, in an executive order signed on January 27, said that 'expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service'. The Pentagon then issued a memo stating that it would remove transgender troops from the forces unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis.
“The March 27, 2025 preliminary injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, case No. 2:25-cv- 241, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the top court wrote in its one-page order.
Who voted how?
The court’s brief, unsigned order did not specify individual justices’ votes, as is typical for emergency rulings. However, the three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—publicly dissented from the decision, implying that they did not vote. There is no information on how the six conservative justices—John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett— voted.
{{/usCountry}}The court’s brief, unsigned order did not specify individual justices’ votes, as is typical for emergency rulings. However, the three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—publicly dissented from the decision, implying that they did not vote. There is no information on how the six conservative justices—John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett— voted.
{{/usCountry}}The ruling on Tuesday is a 'devastating blow to transgender servicemembers who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation's defense,' Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation said in a statement.
“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.”