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

In a 2–1 vote, the judges ruled the government could not remove such individuals but also said the government can forbid them from joining the military.

Soldiers of the U.S. Army Rangers perform in combat exercises 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.