Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, appeals court panel rules [View all]

Source: AP

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Updated 1:19 PM CDT, June 1, 2026
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, a divided panel of federal appeal court judges ruled on Monday in another legal setback for President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda.

The majority opinion — by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit — held that the Trump administration’s policy was designed to exclude people from the military based on their gender identity.

The ban will remain in effect for now. The U.S. Supreme Court let it go through last year as litigation continues to play out, and the appeals court put their own ruling on hold to allow for appeals. It would apply to plaintiffs serving in the miliary, but not those seeking to join.

The appeals court panel’s 2-1 decision largely upholds a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. Reyes concluded that Trump’s executive order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-ban-trump-02c27819995ebfbea6aa45d2633028d3