{"id":2609153,"date":"2026-06-01T14:43:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-strikes-down-war-departments-ban-on-transgender-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T14:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:45:20","slug":"appeals-court-strikes-down-war-departments-ban-on-transgender-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-strikes-down-war-departments-ban-on-transgender-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court strikes down War Department&#8217;s ban on transgender troops"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fappeals-court-strikes-down-war-departments-ban-on-transgender-troops%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2609153&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A U.S. appeals court panel ruled Monday that the Trump governance\u2019s 2025 policy barring transgender people with gender dysphoria from serving is unlawful,saying it was arbitrary and driven by animus and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-naacp-and-ut-students-file-federal-civil-rights-complaint-over-racist-school-song-eyes-of-texas\/\" title=\"Texas NAACP And UT Students File Federal Civil Rights Complaint Over \u2018Racist\u2019 School Song \u2018Eyes Of Texas\u2019\">violates equal protection<\/a>. The 2-1 decision, issued by the D.C.Circuit,applies to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/army-investigating-chaplain-who-said-transgender-people-unqualified-to-serve\/\" title=\"Army Investigating Chaplain Who Said Transgender ... \u2018Unqualified To Serve\u2019\">transgender service members<\/a> already involved in the lawsuit,though the broader policy remains in place for others trying to join. <\/p>\n<p>Judge robert Wilkins and Judge Judith Rogers said the government did not justify its negative characterizations of the plaintiffs and suggested the policy targets a politically unpopular group. The lone dissenter, Judge Justin walker, argued the court wrongfully stepped into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-broke-the-military-now-it-must-fix-it\/\" title=\"Congress Broke the Military, Now It Must Fix It\">military personnel decision<\/a> that shoudl be left to the executive branch and Congress, warning that judges are not meant to \u201crun the Army.\u201d The ruling can be appealed, and the Justice Department is expected to challenge it.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1537\">appeals court<\/a> ruled on Monday against the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration\u2019s<\/a> policy of barring <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/transgender\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"369\">transgender<\/a> troops from the military, finding the policy was arbitrary and implemented with animus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A three judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41889\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41889.1208855359.0.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41889\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41889.1208855359.0.pdf\">found<\/a> 2-1 that the Department of War\u2019s January 2025 policy, which held that people with gender dysphoria are unfit to serve in the military, is unlawful. The ruling by the panel on the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >liberal-leaning court limited<\/a> its ruling to the current transgender-identifying service members who were part of the lawsuit, and the Trump administration\u2019s policy is still in effect for transgender-identifying people not already in the military who are seeking to join.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4589540\/kash-patel-girlfriend-alexis-wilkins-sues-ms-now-defamation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Kash Patel\u2019s girlfriend Alexis Wilkins sues MS Now for defamation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4589444\/florida-ag-sues-openai-sam-altman-deceptive-endanger-people\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida attorney general sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over deceptive practices that endanger people<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4589239\/watch-live-judge-decides-tyler-robinson-hearing-will-be-public\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Judge decides whether Tyler Robinson hearing will be public<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn this litigation, the government has not attempted to defend or provide any factual basis for these disparaging characterizations of American citizens,\u201d U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said in his ruling for the panel. \u201cIndeed, the government has not contested that the Plaintiff-Appellees who are currently serving (and who have collectively earned more than 80 commendations) have served honorably and pose no threat to national security, even though they happen to be transgender and have suffered from gender dysphoria.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkins also accused the administration of targeting people who disagree with it on gender ideology and stated that the policy appears motivated by a \u201cbare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs such, at this preliminary stage, I conclude that the Hegseth Policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees\u2019 constitutional right to equal protection of the law,\u201d Wilkins said, referring the policy instituted under current War Secretary Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Circuit Judge Judith Rogers, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, joined the majority with Wilkins, also penning her own concurring opinion. In her opinion, Rogers said that she would also have halted the DOW\u2019s policy for transgender-identifying people trying to join the military, which Wilkins declined to do at this point in the litigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lone dissenter was U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, an appointee of President Donald Trump, who argued that the court erred by intervening in a military decision left to Congress and the executive branch, rather than the judiciary. He wrote in his lengthy dissent that the majority discounted the \u201cneed for deference\u201d toward the executive branch for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-seeks-supreme-court-intervention-in-transgender-troops-ban\/\" title=\"Trump seeks ... intervention in transgender troops ban\">military personnel decisions<\/a> and argued that the majority did \u201cnot explain which part of the military\u2019s justification is unreasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018We know that from top to bottom of the Army the complaint is often made, and sometimes with justification, that there is discrimination, favoritism or other objectionable handling of men. But judges are not given the task of running the Army.\u2019 Only the Executive and Congress are responsible for system-wide military judgments about the composition of the armed forces,\u201d Walker wrote in his dissent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Supreme Court has never assumed that role for itself. Neither has the D.C. Circuit. Not until today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4586947\/federal-judge-blocks-doj-anti-weaponization-fund\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4586947\/federal-judge-blocks-doj-anti-weaponization-fund\/\">FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS DOJ\u2019S $1.776 BILLION \u2018ANTI-WEAPONIZATION\u2019 FUND<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ruling can be appealed to either the full bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court. The Justice Department is likely to appeal the Monday ruling in some form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With transgender issues, the Trump administration has fared better the higher lawsuits have gone in federal courts. The Supreme Court <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3402784\/supreme-court-transgender-military-ban-trump\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3402784\/supreme-court-transgender-military-ban-trump\/\">allowed the transgender troop ban<\/a> to go into effect via its emergency docket in a different lawsuit last year, and months later the high court allowed the administration\u2019s rule <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3878384\/supreme-court-hands-trump-a-win-on-passport-biological-sex-rule\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3878384\/supreme-court-hands-trump-a-win-on-passport-biological-sex-rule\/\">mandating that passports must <\/a>reflect<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3878384\/supreme-court-hands-trump-a-win-on-passport-biological-sex-rule\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3878384\/supreme-court-hands-trump-a-win-on-passport-biological-sex-rule\/\"> a person\u2019s biological sex<\/a>, rather than his or her gender identity, also via its emergency docket.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal court blocks Trump ban on transgender troops (animus)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2609154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26139614924216.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32324,41642,39947,54010,62768],"class_list":["post-2609153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-appeals-court","tag-equal-protection","tag-military-policy","tag-transgender-troops","tag-war-department"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26139614924216.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2609153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2609157,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609153\/revisions\/2609157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2609153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2609153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2609153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}