The Trump administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow enforcement of its ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military.
In a filing obtained by Scripps News, the White House is asking the high court to stay a lower court's injunction "in its entirety."
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The request comes after a federal judge blocked enforcement of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that banned transgender people from serving in the military. The order claims the sexual identity of transgender servicemembers "conflicts with the soldier's commitment" and is harmful to military readiness.
U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle — an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush — in March ruled in favor of servicemembers suing the Trump administration over the order, stating that their firing would damage their careers and reputations.
Back in 2016, an Obama-era policy permitted transgender individuals to openly serve in the military. But when Trump took office during his first term, he issued a ban, with an exception for active-duty servicemembers who had already undergone the transitioning process. Then when former President Joe Biden took office, the ban was ultimately scrapped.
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Thousands of transgender individuals serve in the military, but they make up less than 1% of total active-duty personnel. Scripps News recently spoke with Army Reserves 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott, a transgender man who is one of the plaintiffs in the case against the Trump administration ban.
"I think that every service member is, you know, just as honorable, capable, determined as anyone else," said Talbott. "Trans people are no different than the general population of service members when it comes to that idea. I know, certainly, I uphold the military values, the Army values, every day in my personal life, in my professional life, and everything that I do, and I think that that's true of all of our trans service members as well."
