A U.S. appeals court on June 1, 2026 allowed the Trump administration to bar transgender people from enlisting while blocking the discharge of current transgender service members pending litigation.
A 2016 RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Defense Department estimated between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender service members were on active duty, out of roughly 1.3 million total.
Policy on transgender military service has shifted across four administrations: Obama lifted the ban in 2016, Trump restricted service in 2017, Biden reversed the restrictions in 2021, and Trump reinstated restrictions in 2025.
Supporters of open service argue that readiness should be judged on individual fitness; opponents argue gender-transition-related medical care and standards affect unit cohesion and deployability.
The Supreme Court in 2025 allowed the Trump administration's transgender military policy to take effect while lower-court challenges continued.