US asks Supreme Court to allow transgender service ban

Michael Macagnone, CQ-Roll Call on Apr 24, 2025

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to pause a lower court ruling that blocks its effort to ban transgender service members from the military while a legal challenge plays out.

The application asked the justices to pause a nationwide injunction from a federal district court in Washington that stopped the Trump administration from taking negative action against transgender service members.

The lawsuit was brought by a group of transgender service members seeking to stop their discharges. The injunction was entered in March and upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The application accused the lower court of “usurping the Executive Branch’s authority to determine who may serve in the Nation’s armed forces.” The Supreme Court has asked the service members who brought the suit to respond by May 1.

The government’s application compared the 2025 policy to one adopted in the first Trump administration, where “the Department rationally determined that service by individuals with gender dysphoria would undermine military effectiveness and lethality—consistent with similar, longstanding determinations for a wide range of other medical conditions (such as asthma and hypertension).”

The Supreme Court allowed that initial ban to proceed while litigation went forward, before the Biden administration overturned the policy. Shortly after taking office in his second term, Donald Trump signed an executive order which resulted in the Defense Department again banning service by transgender members.

The ban has faced challenges in multiple lawsuits, including one that went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier this week after a lower court judge ruled it likely violated the constitution and federal law.

The case is the latest emergency application to the Supreme Court following court challenges to Trump administration actions, including his birthright citizenship order, deportation efforts and efforts to remove federal officials.

The case is United States of America et al. v. Emily Shilling et al.