The conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, ignoring the actions of three lower courts, granted the Trump administration’s motion to allow it to proceed with the Commander-in-Chief’s decision to ban and purge all service members from the U.S. Armed Forces who are transgender.
The nation’s highest court, with dissents from the three liberal justices, ruled that President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth may begin to discharge transgender individuals regardless of performance, while cases work their way through the courts. Two federal district courts had ruled that a ban, in whole or part, on service members simply because they are transgender likely violates their 14th Amendment rights.
The two district courts placed injunctions on the Trump administration’s plan to ban transgender individuals, and an appeals court upheld one of those injunctions.
“Lower courts had blocked the policy, saying it was not supported by evidence and violated equal protection principles,” The New York Times reported. Tuesday’s ruling “will remain in place while challenges to the ban move forward.”
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But the court made clear, in what effectively was an unsigned 6-3 ruling, that the Trump administration, at least temporarily, may begin the discharge process.
The New York Times in February reported that the Pentagon believes the number of transgender service members is far lower than previously estimated, about 4200 in total. Previous estimates had come in at about 15,000.
The Trump administration has argued that transgender troops are disruptive to unit cohesion and lethality, and President Trump “has characterized the cost of providing care as ‘tremendous.’” The actual cost, however, is around $9000 per trans service member, and totaled around $52 million over the past ten years.
The administration also “asserted that being transgender ‘conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle.’”
Critics are blasting the Supreme Court, with several stating the trans military ban will make America less safe.
“Banning transgender people who want to serve our country from joining the military isn’t just cruel—it’s stupid,” declared U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). “Shame on Trump. And shame on SCOTUS for letting such a hateful policy take effect.”
“It’s discrimination,” wrote MSNBC legal analyst Jill Wine-Banks.
“Backward, bigoted and bad for our national security,” wrote veteran and veterans’ activist Paul Rieckhoff, president of Righteous Media. “Trump’s radical and destructive culture war on our military continues. And is unsurprisingly supported by this Supreme Court. Trump’s trans purge will remove valuable servicemembers, disrupt units and make America less safe.”
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“Absolutely shameful,” declared U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, and Iraq War combat veteran. “Trump’s trans military service ban hurts our military readiness, makes our military’s recruitment challenges even worse and disrespects Americans who are brave enough to serve in uniform. This will make our military less lethal and Americans less safe.”
Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “I’m so sorry for all the decorated members of the military who are going to be kicked out and treated like garbage by this administration just because of their gender identity. We’re losing talented, dedicated soldiers and staff because of this.”
“Thousands of openly-trans members of the military were just given a huge middle finger by the conservative majority of the Supreme Court, who are allowing a cruel and unnecessary ban to go into effect, despite the overwhelming evidence that the ban itself is ridiculous,” wrote author Charlotte Clymer, a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign.
“Less than 1% of Americans serve in the military, showing remarkable honor & bravery,” observed DePaul University Associate Professor of Political Science. “Less than 1% of those are openly trans, & show the same honor & even more bravery. Open discrimination by the president & the Supreme Court must be called out. Shameful.”
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