On Friday, the Trump administration filed a 300-page emergency petition with the United States Supreme Court to allow the Department of War's ban on transgenders serving in the military to take immediate effect, despite pending litigation.
The Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the Pentagon's ban on transgender people serving in the military to take effect immediately.
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) August 29, 2026
The petition asks the nation's highest court to lift a preliminary court injunction that protects active-duty transgender… pic.twitter.com/QGbYDrVqSB
The Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the Pentagon's ban on transgender people serving in the military to take effect immediately. The petition asks the nation's highest court to lift a preliminary court injunction that protects active-duty transgender troops while the case is litigated, and allow their discharge to proceed.
Details on the DOJ's petition:
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold the president’s ban on transgender troops in the military.
The administration is appealing a June ruling by a lower court that the ban probably violated the troops’ constitutional rights and cannot be enforced against those currently serving while the litigation continues.
The ability of the Pentagon to decide who can serve is a “matter of exceptional importance,” the Justice Department said in its filing.
Shannon Minter, a lawyer with the National Cetner for LGBTQ Rights, said the administration “wants the Supreme Court to rush in and bless the expulsion of proven, decorated soldiers before a single court has issued a final judgment.”
In January 2025, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights along with GLAD Law filed Talbott v. United States in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the DOW policy against transgender troops as unconstitutional and discriminatory. While a trial has been set for January 2027, the DOW wants enforcement of the ban to remain in place,
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in a statement that “Joe Biden allowed trans insanity to run rampant in our military. President Trump restored lethality and readiness to our warfighters."
She continued, "The United States military is the greatest in the world, and President Trump is keeping it that way by focusing on elite readiness standards — not DEI or woke gender ideology."
This is a developing story. Check back with RedState for further updates on it.