What happened
The Supreme Court Tuesday said the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service members could go into force while the policy is litigated in a lower court. The justices did not explain their decision, which the court's three liberal justices opposed.
Who said what
The Pentagon said transgender troops would be banned and purged after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling transgender identity a "falsehood" conflicting with "a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle." Two federal judges blocked the ban in March. One stay was paused by an appellate panel in Washington, D.C., but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift a nationwide injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, a George W. Bush appointee.
Settle said the government's "unrelenting reliance on deference to military judgment is unjustified in the absence of any evidence" presented to justify forcing out honorably serving transgender troops. Government lawyers argued that "federal judges were overstepping their bounds by intruding on" Trump's authority to "supervise the armed forces," Politico said. The Supreme Court's sanctioning of Trump's sweeping "government-imposed bigotry" is "shameful," Mark Joseph Stern said at Slate, and the terse, "unreasoned brush-off" of Settle's "diligent, top-to-bottom evisceration" of the government's rationale is "especially galling."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The case returns to the 9th Circuit. But the Supreme Court's lifting of Settle's hold "is a strong indicator that the administration is ultimately likely to prevail," NPR said.
-
Can Mike Johnson keep his job?Today's Big Question GOP women come after the House leader
-
A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
-
‘These accounts clearly are designed as a capitalist alternative’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
