Appeals court panel rules transgender military ban unconstitutional

A federal appeals court panel ruled that President Donald Trump's policy excluding transgender people from military service likely violates constitutional rights, largely upholding a lower court injunction protecting active-duty transgender troops.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stems from a lawsuit filed by six active-duty transgender service members and is part of a growing legal battle over the January 2025 executive order directing the Pentagon to end transgender service.

Writing for the majority, Judge Robert Wilkins — nominated by President Barack Obama — found that the policy "appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender," according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Judge Judith Rogers, nominated by President Bill Clinton, joined the majority but filed a partial dissent.

Judge Justin Walker, nominated by Trump, disagreed sharply in a dissent, 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 lawsuit traces to a January 2025 executive order in which Trump directed the military to end transgender service. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently issued implementing guidance that presumptively disqualifies anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving. Six active-duty transgender service members and two others seeking to enlist challenged the order in federal court, winning a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in March 2025.

The appeals court largely upheld that injunction but narrowed its scope to current service members, declining to extend protections to those seeking to join the military.

The ruling does not take immediate effect, allowing the administration to seek a rehearing before the full D.C. Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously permitted the transgender military ban to remain in force while lower-court proceedings continued. A separate federal lawsuit in Washington state also produced rulings favorable to challengers of the policy, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

The legal fight over transgender military service is expected to produce further conflicting rulings in lower courts before any final resolution at the Supreme Court level.