May 6 (UPI) — The Trump administration does not have to await the outcome of a federal appellate court challenge to enforce its ban on transgender military members, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
“The preliminary injunction … is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the one-page ruling says.
“Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically,” the unattributed ruling says.
The ruling notes Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would deny the application.
Seven transgender military members filed a federal lawsuit to block the enforcement of President Donald Trump‘s executive order banning transgender service members.
Navy Commander Emily Shilling is the lead plaintiff in the federal case challenging the ban’s legality.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a devastating blow to transgender service members who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense,” officials with the Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The joint statement says the ban “has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice.”
U.S. District Court for Western Washington State Judge Benjamin Settle on March 27 ordered a temporary nationwide injunction stopping the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on transgender members in the U.S. military.
Solicitor General John Sauer on April 24 filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to overrule Settle and end the injunction.
Former President George W. Bush appointed Settle to the federal district court.
Trump during his first term banned transgender members in the U.S. military, which eventually was ended after President Joe Biden entered office in 2021.
The latest ban applies to “service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria” and requires their removal from military service, CNN reported.
A senior defense official previously told CNN the military has 4,240 active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is defined as “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and gender identity,” according to Psychiatry.org.
The Department of Defense discharged active duty personnel and banned transgender individuals from enlisting shortly after Trump banned their inclusion in the military, NPR reported.