Federal Appeals court backs Trump–Hegseth policy restricting transgender military service

WASHINGTON, DC: A federal appeals court on Tuesday, December 9, ruled that the US military may once again bar transgender Americans from serving, handing a significant victory to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump. 

The 2-1 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overturned a lower-court injunction issued in March. 

The Supreme Court had already allowed the ban to remain in place in May while litigation continued.

Judges say ban likely constitutional

Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao ruled that the policy is “likely constitutional” because it reflects the informed judgment of military leaders and promotes “legitimate military interests.”

They argued that longstanding medical standards historically barred individuals with gender dysphoria from serving, noting the military’s shifting policies since 2016 have mirrored changes in presidential administrations.

“The United States military enforces strict medical standards,” they wrote.

Gender dysphoria, they added, has long been associated with “clinically significant distress,” and past standards excluded individuals with the condition until relaxed by Democratic administrations and reinstated under Republican ones.

Court defers to Pete Hegseth on readiness and cost concerns

Hegseth argued that excluding transgender troops improved combat readiness, unit cohesion, and cost control.

The judges said that he relied on studies and materials from prior policy debates and emphasized that courts must remain cautious when asked to override military judgment.

“Even if heightened scrutiny applied,” they wrote, “decades of precedent establish that the judiciary must tread carefully.”

The decision directly contradicts US District Judge Ana Reyes, who blocked the policy in March and sharply condemned it as discriminatory, writing that it was “soaked in animus and dripping with pretext.”

She said the executive order stigmatized transgender people as “inherently unfit.” Katsas and Rao rejected her reasoning, saying she “afforded insufficient deference” to Hegseth’s “considered judgement.”

Ban signed days after Trump’s return to office

The controversy began when Trump, days after returning to office in January, signed an executive order reinstating the ban.

“A man’s assertion that he is a woman,” the order stated, “is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

With the appeals court’s ruling, the administration’s policy is poised to remain in effect as litigation continues, marking a major shift in military service eligibility for transgender Americans.

Several legal organizations signaled that they planned to challenge the ruling, arguing that it undermined both constitutional protections and the military’s own findings from previous years.

Critics also pointed to research commissioned by the Pentagon that reportedly concluded transgender service members do not pose any measurable risk to readiness or cohesion.