The Supreme Court is allowing Trump to implement the transgender military ban

Caitlin Foster

January 22, 2019 4:08 PM

rainbow flag white house transgender military ban

The US Supreme Court decided Tuesday to lift an injunction against the Trump administration's transgender military ban.
The decision allows the administration to implement its policy, which bars certain transgender troops from joining or staying in the military.
President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to lift the injunction and issue a ruling on the merits of cases being reviewed in lower courts.
Justices refused to bypass normal judicial proceedings, allowing lower federal appeals courts to weigh in.

The US Supreme Court has lifted an injunction against the Trump administration's transgender military ban, allowing him to enforce his policy barring certain transgender troops from joining or staying in the military.

President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court in November to lift injunctions issued by federal court judges, which placed a hold on the policy's implementation while a legal challenge continues in lower courts.

The conservative majority granted the president's request on Tuesday, essentially allowing the ban to be implemented while lower courts decide on its constitutionality. Liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have kept the injunctions in place blocking the policy, Reuters reported .

Along with the request to lift injunctions, the Trump administration also asked the Supreme Court to bypass normal judicial proceedings by deciding the legal merits of the policy. The justices refused, allowing a California-based federal appeals court to issue a ruling.

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