The Trump administration is reportedly asking the Supreme Court to uphold the Pentagon’s ban on transgender troops, bringing the contentious military policy before the nation’s highest court for a second time.
The administration’s petition asks the justices to determine whether the ban is constitutional and overturn an appeals court ruling that stopped the Pentagon from using the policy to remove transgender service members already in uniform.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer called the appeals court’s decision a “gravely erroneous holding,” arguing that the military’s authority to decide who may serve is a “matter of exceptional importance.”
“Whether the Constitution prohibits the military from exercising that authority by adopting a policy like the one here is a recurring issue, which has arisen before and will likely arise again absent this Court’s review,” Sauer wrote.
The justices control which cases they hear and could consider the petition during a private conference after returning from summer recess.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order shortly after returning to the White House that barred transgender troops from serving, arguing their presence threatens military readiness and weakens unit cohesion.
Senate Democrats criticized the order, saying Trump was violating service members’ civil rights and damaging national security.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has since signed multiple documents implementing the directive. A memo signed in February last year called for transgender troops to be removed within 60 days unless they received a waiver demonstrating support for “warfighting capabilities.” Many transgender service members have voluntarily left the military since then.
Speaking this week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Hegseth said the Pentagon is working to restore a “warrior ethos” and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“It means colorblind, gender neutral, merit-based, back to basics across the board no matter if you’re carrying a rifle or you’re working on the plant floor,” Hegseth said.
A divided panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in June that the policy was motivated by animus toward transgender people and violated their constitutional equal-protection rights.
Judge Robert Wilkins wrote that the policy’s contrast with one adopted during Trump’s first administration appeared driven by a desire to harm “a politically unpopular group.”
The 2-1 ruling blocked enforcement against the active-duty service members who challenged the ban but did not cover individuals seeking to enlist.
Dissenting Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, warned his colleagues that “we are judges not generals.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs urged the Supreme Court to reject the administration’s petition, noting that a trial is scheduled for January.
The Supreme Court previously allowed the administration to temporarily implement the policy in May 2025 by lifting a nationwide injunction in a separate lawsuit. The court’s three liberal justices dissented. That case remains pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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