Restrictions on transgender military troops to take effect

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s broad restrictions on transgender people serving in the military to go into effect while the legal battle continues in lower courts.

What the ruling’s supporters said

The court’s five conservatives — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — allowed the restrictions to go into effect while the court decides whether to consider the merits of the case.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said,“We are pleased the Supreme Court granted stays in these cases, clearing the way for the policy to go into effect while litigation continues.

“The Department of Defense has the authority to create and implement personnel policies it has determined are necessary to best defend our nation.

“Due to lower courts issuing nationwide injunctions, our military had been forced to maintain a prior policy that poses a risk to military effectiveness and lethality for over a year.”

What the ruling’s opponents said

The liberal justices — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — would have kept the injunctions in place.

Lambda Legal Counsel Peter Renn said the Supreme Court’s decision was “perplexing to say the least: on the one hand, denying the Trump administration’s premature request for review of lower court rulings before appellate courts have ruled and rebuffing the administration’s attempt to skirt established rules; and yet on the other allowing the administration to begin to discriminate, at least for now, as the litigation plays out.

“For more than 30 months, transgender troops have been serving our country openly with valor and distinction, but now the rug has been ripped out from under them, once again.”

What’s next

The court’s decision clears the way for the Pentagon to bar enlistment by people who have undergone a gender transition. The fact that five justices were willing to allow the policy to take effect for now makes it more likely the Trump administration’s policy will ultimately be upheld.