By a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit has ruled against the Trump administration's effort to refocus military personnel policies on combat readiness and biological-sex-based standards while rolling back accommodations for service members whose "gender identity" differs from their biological sex.
The appeals court panel's decision largely upholds a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who concluded that Trump's executive order "prioritizing military excellence and readiness" — and the resulting Pentagon policy presumptively disqualifying people with gender dysphoria from military service — likely violates so-called "transgender" service members' constitutional rights.
The ban, which applies to plaintiffs serving in the military, not those seeking to join, will remain in effect for now, however. The U.S. Supreme Court let it go through last year as litigation continues to play out, and the appeals court has put their own ruling on hold to allow for appeals, which Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness is sure will come.
"I'm sure the administration will be on solid ground," she tells AFN. "They have rested everything they have done in personnel issues on readiness and morale, making our military stronger, and it's all been consistent. They have not hesitated to put their policy regarding transgenderism into the regulation."
Unfortunately, she says Congress has failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibility.
"Whether you're talking about the military or the schools or athletics, Congress has to solve this issue," Donnelly asserts. "They haven't done so yet, so that's why they keep going back into the courts."
She says these policies keep swinging back and forth because of activist judges' involvement and changes in political leadership, and they will continue to do so until and unless Congress steps in and makes them law.
Meanwhile, Donnelly says the instability is not fair to military personnel, "and it's especially unfair to women."
