A US appeals court on Monday ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration can temporarily continue barring transgender people from enlisting in the military, but blocked the removal of currently serving transgender personnel while an ongoing lawsuit continues.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2025 policy appeared to be unlawfully motivated “by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”

However, the court also ruled that the Pentagon has broad authority to determine enlistment standards and may continue enforcing restrictions on new transgender recruits pending the outcome of the legal challenge brought by transgender service members and prospective recruits.

“It appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a military career than to delay the start of one,” wrote Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins.

Circuit Judge Justin Walker dissented, arguing that courts lack the authority and expertise to decide whether the military can exclude transgender individuals from service.

Jennifer Levi of LGBTQ rights organisation GLAD Law, which represents the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling.

“This decisive ruling confirms that the Trump administration has no legitimate basis to discharge transgender service members who have met every demanding standard and proven, time and again, their fitness and dedication to serve,” Levi said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated the administration would challenge the decision at the Supreme Court level, writing on X: “See you at SCOTUS.”

The ruling partially upholds an earlier decision by a Washington-based federal judge who blocked the full implementation of the policy while legal proceedings continue. The judge had previously ruled that the policy likely amounted to sex discrimination and may violate constitutional equal protection guarantees.

Trump’s January 2025 executive order argued that adopting a transgender identity conflicts with military standards and discipline. Hegseth implemented the directive shortly afterwards, triggering multiple legal challenges.

The military policy is part of a broader push by the Trump administration affecting transgender rights across multiple sectors, including healthcare, education and employment.

According to Department of Defense figures, the US military has approximately 1.3 million active-duty personnel. Estimates of transgender service members vary, with advocates placing the figure around 15,000 while government officials estimate the number in the low thousands.