Supreme Court permits transgender military ban as court battle plays out

The highest court in the nation ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration may enforce its ban on transgender service members amid the ongoing court battle over its constitutionality. The SCOTUS ruling overturned a lower court order that stopped enforcement of a policy barring people who identify as transgender from serving. President Donald Trump’s January executive order mandated, the policy, which discharged transgender military members and stopped new ones from joining. The Tuesday ruling noted that Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson would not have granted the motion.

How long will the SCOTUS order allow the ban to take effect? The SCOTUS order will permit the policy for as long as the appeal process takes. The case is currently on appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and may extend its appeal process by petitioning the Supreme Court to hear the case.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on a recent appeals court hearing on the ban for more background.