The Ban
The administration reinstated the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military. In May 2025, the Supreme Court allowed enforcement to resume while legal challenges continue.
That reversal ignores years of evidence. A 2016 RAND Corporation study found open service had no significant impact on readiness, unit cohesion, or healthcare costs at a scale that would disrupt the force.
This policy is not about military performance. It uses the military as a testing ground for discrimination that can spread into schools, federal agencies, and healthcare systems. It fits a pattern of attacks on LGBTQ rights across multiple fronts.
Where This Leads
The ban tells transgender service members that skill and sacrifice are conditional. It also signals that basic rights can be withdrawn for political effect even after the underlying facts were settled.
When a government uses state power to make one minority group newly disposable, that decision rarely stays contained.
Contact Your Senators
- Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your senators.
- Send a letter through Resistbot asking your senators to oppose the policy publicly and support legislation protecting transgender service members.
- Send this brief to a veteran, service member, or military family who should know about the fight.
Write your senators about the transgender military ban →
Update, June 29, 2026: On June 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit blocked Executive Order 14183’s transgender military ban for active-duty service members in a 2-1 ruling, finding the order was designed to exclude people from military service based on gender identity rather than any legitimate readiness concern. The case, now styled Talbott v. USA, was brought by GLAD Law and the National Center for LGBTQ Rights on behalf of six active-duty service members and two individuals seeking to enlist; 12 additional plaintiffs have since joined.
Plaintiffs asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week to certify the lawsuit as a class action. GLAD Law staff attorney Michael Haley said certification would ensure that any final judgment covers all transgender service members affected by the ban, not only the named plaintiffs. Some service members have already received notices placing them before separation boards, though Haley told the Washington Blade that the government has disclosed no criteria for timing or selection.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has indicated the administration may seek Supreme Court review. Haley said the core constitutional question is whether the policy violates the Equal Protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment by targeting transgender people based on discriminatory animus rather than military necessity.