The split 6–3 decision allows the Pentagon to discharge current personnel and reject new recruits with “gender dysphoria”
The US Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to enforce its ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, overturning a lower court’s injunction and allowing the policy to take effect amid ongoing legal challenges.
The 6–3 decision, issued on May 6, 2025, reinstates President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”. Issued a week after Trump returned to office in January, the order prohibits transgender individuals from enlisting and requires the Defense Department to identify and dismiss all service members who have “a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling lifts a nationwide injunction previously issued by a federal judge in Washington state in March.
Under the reinstated policy, individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria are disqualified from military service unless they serve in their biological sex and do not seek to undergo gender transition. The Department of Defense has been directed to implement the policy, which includes halting gender-affirming medical care for transgender service members.
Trump first banned transgender people from serving in the US military in 2017. Former President Joe Biden repealed the ban shortly after taking office in 2021, only for Trump to reinstate it during his second term.
Since returning to office, Trump has rescinded dozens of executive orders signed by his predecessor, including at least a dozen measures aimed at promoting the interests of racial minorities and the LGBTQ community.
He also issued a formal decree recognizing only two genders – male and female – which, according to the order, cannot be changed. Trump further ended federal support for what he described as the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children using puberty blockers, hormones, and other medical procedures related to sex changes for individuals under the age of 19.
