Trump Administration Asks the Supreme Court to Let the Military Discharge Transgender Service Members

Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed a petition on Aug. 28, 2026 asking the Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit ruling that barred the Pentagon from enforcing its ban on service by people with gender dysphoria. Sauer called the June 1 decision "gravely erroneous" and said it "would represent an 'unprecedented intervention into military affairs.'" He argued the policy classifies on a medical condition rather than on transgender status, so courts should apply rational-basis review rather than heightened scrutiny.\n\nThe case reaches the justices on the merits rather than as an emergency application, meaning a ruling could settle whether the ban is constitutional rather than only whether it operates while litigation proceeds. A separate challenge filed in Washington state remains pending in the Ninth Circuit.\n\nThe Defense Department issued the ban on Feb. 26, 2025 under a Trump executive order. Judge Ana Reyes blocked it in March 2025, calling it "soaked in animus"; a divided D.C. Circuit panel later upheld part of that order as to challengers already serving. The challengers' response to the petition is due in about a month.