A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s policy of banning transgender individuals from serving in the military is likely unconstitutional.

In a 2-1 ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision that prevented the Department of War from removing transgender troops who are in the military.

“The Hegseth policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees’ constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” said Judge Robert Wilkins, who wrote the majority opinion.

CBS News shared further:

Wilkins and Judge Justin Walker, meanwhile, allowed the administration to enforce restrictions on transgender plaintiffs who sought to join the military but were prevented under the new policy from doing so.

Walker, who authored a dissenting opinion, was nominated to the federal bench by Mr. Trump in 2020. Wilkins was appointed to the D.C. Circuit by President Barack Obama, and Rogers was tapped for the appeals court by President Bill Clinton.

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Mr. Trump signed an executive order in the opening days of his second term that targeted active-duty and prospective service members with gender dysphoria. The president’s directive said that the military’s “high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity and integrity” are inconsistent with the “medical, surgical and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.”

Soon after the president signed his executive order, Hegseth directed the Pentagon to pause new accessions for people with a history of gender dysphoria and halt medical procedures for transgender troops. The Defense Department issued a policy in February 2025 disqualifying people with gender dysphoria from military service unless they obtained a waiver.

Hegseth’s policy drew several legal challenges, including in Washington, D.C., and Tacoma, Washington. In May 2025, in response to proceedings in the case from Tacoma, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to continue enforcing its policy on transgender military service while litigation moved forward.

“The government’s stated reason for issuing the Hegseth Policy as based solely upon gender dysphoria was pretextual, and that instead, the Hegseth Policy was premised, at least in part, on a non-legitimate state interest to harm the politically unpopular group of transgender persons,” Wilkins wrote in the opinion, according to CBS News.

More from the Associated Press:

The appeals court panel’s 2-1 decision largely upholds a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. Reyes concluded that Trump’s executive order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights.

The administration appealed after Reyes issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for several transgender people who are active-duty service members and others seeking to join the military. The appeal court’s majority decided that the injunction should be narrowed to the plaintiffs currently serving in the military but not those trying to enlist.

 

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