Trump administration asks US Supreme Court to expedite discharge of transgender servicemembers

Today, the Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to review Talbott v. USA, the lawsuit challenging its ban on military service by transgender people. The administration is seeking to overturn a preliminary injunction that protects currently serving transgender plaintiffs in Talbott from being discharged while the case is litigated. Trial is scheduled to begin in the federal district court for the District of Columbia in January 2027.

The Current Situation:

  • The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to step in now – before trial – so it can begin discharging transgender servicemembers immediately.
  • Multiple courts have already ruled that these servicemembers must remain protected while the case proceeds, finding that:
    • the ban is baseless and rooted in animus, not military judgment;
    • discharging these servicemembers now would cause them extreme and irreparable harm; and
    • the plaintiffs are highly likely to win at trial, where the ban is expected to be struck down as unconstitutional.

Next Steps:

  • The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case at this early stage – before any final ruling, and in the absence of any circuit split.

NCLR and GLAD Law Respond to Today’s Trump Administration Request:

  • “The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to rush in and bless the expulsion of proven, decorated soldiers before a single court has issued a final judgment. There is no circuit split, no emergency, and no merit – only a policy that multiple courts have now found was driven by prejudice rather than military need. The Trump administration is needlessly attempting to ram through policies that will cause irreparable harm to servicemembers and their families. The Court should deny this request,” said Shannon Minter, National Center for LGBTQ Rights Legal Director.
  • “We are confident the Supreme Court will affirm that the Trump administration cannot base policies on hostility toward a group of people. As the Trump administration’s own attorneys admitted, these are qualified individuals who are meeting all military standards. There is no reason to waste millions of taxpayer dollars to kick out thousands of highly trained, skilled, and decorated troops based on nothing but hostility and this administration’s political whims,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights.

Learn more about the case.