A U.S. appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to enforce its ban on transgender-identifying individuals serving in the military, dealing a temporary setback to the administration’s efforts to prioritize military readiness and discipline.
The decision was handed down by the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, after the administration appealed an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle. Settle had previously issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the military from identifying and discharging transgender service members.
The Trump administration sought an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit to put Settle’s ruling on hold while the full appeal proceeded. If granted, this would have allowed the administration to enforce its new military policy immediately. However, the request was denied by a panel of three judges: Wallace Tashima (a Bill Clinton nominee), John Owens (an Obama appointee), and Roopali Desai (appointed by Joe Biden).
Given the ideological makeup of the Ninth Circuit, the ruling is hardly surprising. The court has long been a roadblock to conservative policies and has a history of siding with left-wing activist groups that oppose traditional military standards.
The case was brought by Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, two far-left organizations that have been at the forefront of pushing radical gender ideology in the military. Their lawsuit represents seven transgender service members who sought to overturn Trump’s executive order, which prioritizes military excellence and readiness over social experiments.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order titled, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.” The order makes clear that military service requires a commitment to discipline, truthfulness, and readiness—standards that transgender ideology directly undermines. The executive order states:
“Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
“Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
Trump’s order reflects a commonsense approach: the military is not a social experiment. It is a fighting force meant to defend the nation. The administration rightly argues that allowing individuals with gender dysphoria into the military undermines unit cohesion, combat effectiveness, and the ability to maintain a disciplined force.
Following Trump’s order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive in February halting all new enlistments for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria. In addition, all scheduled or planned medical procedures related to gender transition for active-duty service members were paused.
This move was met with fierce opposition from left-wing activists, but it aligns with the military’s primary mission: to fight and win wars. Prioritizing political correctness over military readiness is a dangerous game, and Trump’s administration is making it clear that national defense comes first.
This latest ruling follows a similar decision by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, another Biden appointee, who blocked the Pentagon from implementing its policy barring transgender individuals from serving without a waiver. The Biden administration and activist judges continue to push radical social policies into America’s military, regardless of the consequences for effectiveness, morale, and unit cohesion.
The Trump administration is expected to continue fighting this battle, likely taking the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling is only a temporary roadblock, and the administration remains committed to restoring military standards based on truth, discipline, and combat effectiveness—not radical gender ideology.
As the legal battle continues, one thing remains clear: President Trump is putting America’s military first, while left-wing activists and their allies in the judiciary are more concerned with pushing a social agenda at the expense of national security.
We need real men and women in the defense of our country, those people that just want to play pretend don’t belong in the military.
Having the idiots that pretend there is more than one gender in our military just defeats the goal of a serious armed forces to protect our country.