DC Circuit strikes down Hegseth’s transgender military ban for active-duty troops

A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban on transgender service members was unconstitutional, blocking the government from discharging any active-duty troops. The 2-1 majority found the policy arbitrary and driven by animus toward transgender people, violating their equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment.

Writing for the majority, U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, a Barack Obama appointee, said the record showed the policy’s purpose was to “target applicants and service members who express what the administration believes is a ‘false gender identity,’” and that “some of those disqualifications are completely unexplained and have no reasonable justification.” Wilkins noted the policy differed sharply from the “Mattis policy” adopted during Trump’s first term, which had allowed transgender service members to remain in the military, and concluded the contrast appeared driven by “the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”

The panel sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes for further proceedings while leaving the ban in place for prospective recruits, citing concerns about requiring the military to admit new applicants under a preliminary injunction that could later be overturned. Jennifer Levi of GLBTQ Advocates & Defenders, lead counsel in the case, called the ruling a “solid rejection of this administration’s continued targeting of trans people” but said the bar on new recruits would “ultimately be struck down as well.”

U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing the court was improperly intervening in military matters that belong to the executive and legislative branches. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment, according to Courthouse News Service.