At issue in the suit, Shilling v. United States, is President Donald Trump's January executive order banning transgender military members. (Getty Images)
The executive order would require the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding "trans-identifying medical standards for military service" and to "rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness."
Seven transgender military members brought suit against the administration in Washington, D.C., and in Seattle-based federal court.
That complaint argued that the executive order "turns" away transgender military members "and kicks them out – for no legitimate reason."
"Rather, it baselessly declares all transgender people unfit to serve, insults and demeans them, and cruelly describes every one of them as incapable of ‘an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ based solely because they are transgender," it continued.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction in March that blocked the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members as the suit worked its way through the lower courts.
In his opinion granting the injunction, Settle characterized the ban as a "blanket prohibition on transgender service." Settle found the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their equal protection, First Amendment, and procedural due process claims, among others.
TRUMP'S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING
Transgender plaintiffs also notably sued in D.C. federal court, where U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes also initially blocked the ban from going into effect. (Getty/Reuters)
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"The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so," a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time.
Shilling v. United States is just one of several suits challenging the Trump administration's military ban. It comes as Trump has used his early days in office to undo major Biden-era policies, including their efforts to promote a diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, agenda.
Haley Chi-Sing is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. You can reach her at @haleychising on X.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-hands-down-decision-trans-military-ban-suit