Federal appeals court lets Pentagon reinstate transgender service ban, says judge overstepped military leaders

By Fox News · Fox News

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Pentagon to temporarily enforce its revived ban on transgender military service, ruling that a lower court improperly blocked the Trump administration’s 2025 policy. The decision marks a major development in one of the most closely watched military policy cases in the country. The 2–1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stays a district court’s preliminary injunction and permits the Trump administration to continue enforcing the restrictions while litigation continues. "Today’s victory is a great win for the security of the American people," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. "As commander in chief, President Trump has the executive authority to ensure that our Department of War prioritizes military readiness over woke gender ideology." FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST TRUMP ORDER HALTING SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES IN PRISONS Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, writing for the majority, said the district court wrongly substituted its own judgment for that of Pentagon leadership. "The United States military enforces strict medical standards to ensure that only physically and mentally fit individuals join its ranks. For decades, these requirements barred service by individuals with gender dysphoria, a medical condition associated with clinically significant distress," the majority wrote. "The district court nonetheless preliminarily enjoined the 2025 policy based on its own contrary assessment of the evidence. In our view, the court afforded insufficient deference to the Secretary's [Hegseth] considered judgment . Accordingly, we stay the preliminary injunction pending the government’s appeal." FEDERAL JUDGE UNDERCUTS TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON 'RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY' The 2025 policy, enacted under President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, "generally bars individuals with gender dysphoria from serving in the Armed Forces," the court noted. According to the ma…