Appeals Court Rules Government Can’t Kick Out Service Members With Gender Dysphoria

The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision and allows the government to prevent people with gender dysphoria from joining the military.

Soldiers compete in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., on April 10, 2026. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A panel of judges ruled on June 1 that President Donald Trump’s policy of excluding people with gender dysphoria already serving in the military is unconstitutional.

The policy, instituted last year under War Secretary Pete Hegseth, “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender,” the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled.