In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2025 policy appeared to be unlawfully
motivated “by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”
However, the court also ruled that the Pentagon has broad
authority to determine enlistment standards and may continue enforcing
restrictions on new transgender recruits pending the outcome of the legal
challenge brought by transgender service members and prospective recruits.
“It appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a
military career than to delay the start of one,” wrote Circuit Judge Robert
Wilkins.
Circuit Judge Justin Walker dissented, arguing that courts
lack the authority and expertise to decide whether the military can exclude
transgender individuals from service.
Jennifer Levi of LGBTQ rights organisation GLAD Law, which
represents the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling.
“This decisive ruling confirms that the Trump administration
has no legitimate basis to discharge transgender service members who have met
every demanding standard and proven, time and again, their fitness and
dedication to serve,” Levi said.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated the
administration would challenge the decision at the Supreme Court level, writing
on X: “See you at SCOTUS.”
The ruling partially upholds an earlier decision by a
Washington-based federal judge who blocked the full implementation of the
policy while legal proceedings continue. The judge had previously ruled that
the policy likely amounted to sex discrimination and may violate constitutional
equal protection guarantees.
Trump’s January 2025 executive order argued that adopting a
transgender identity conflicts with military standards and discipline. Hegseth
implemented the directive shortly afterwards, triggering multiple legal
challenges.
The military policy is part of a broader push by the Trump
administration affecting transgender rights across multiple sectors, including
healthcare, education and employment.
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