The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Monday that a Trump administration policy banning transgender troops from military service illegal. In a split decision, the court concluded that the administration may stop transgender recruits from joining, but could not immediately remove transgender troops who are already actively serving.

The three-judge panel found that the policy likely violates transgender troops’ constitutional rights. The 50-page majority opinion stated that the 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,” as the policy appeared to be driven by the desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender.

The ruling also noted that the government went

far beyond disqualifying persons currently or recently suffering from gender dysphoria” and the government did not attempt to defend or provide a factual basis for the ban, rather contending that this case is solely about whether the military can disqualify persons from military service because they suffer from “gender dysphoria, a mental health condition.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Justin Walker, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote:

“We know that from top to bottom of the Army the complaint is often made, and sometimes with justification, that there is discrimination, favoritism or other objectionable handling of men. But judges are not given the task of running the Army.” Only the Executive and Congress are responsible for system-wide military judgments about the composition of the armed forces. The Supreme Court has never assumed that role for itself. Neither has the D.C. Circuit. Not until today.

The executive order, signed in January 2025, declared that the “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria,” as well as “shifting pronoun usage,” are inconsistent with government policy and the standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, and integrity.” The order led Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a policy that disqualified people with gender dysphoria from serving.

Originally, the policy faced significant legal pushback. However, the US Supreme Court allowed the Pentagon to start enforcing the ban in May 2025. It remained in effect as litigation continued, until this ruling.

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