US Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce transgender military ban

The US Supreme Court temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to enforce his ban on transgender people serving in the military while legal challenges to the policy move forward.

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump issued a pair of executive orders that cleared the way for the Pentagon to ban transgender troops from service.

But a lower court blocked the enforcement of the order in March, saying the administration had presented no information that transgender troops harmed the operation of the military.

In its emergency application to the court, the Trump administration argued that the lower court should show deference to the military's decision-making.

The court's three liberal justices objected to the stay, which arrived via an unsigned order on Tuesday.

Trump's executive order declared that identifying as transgender "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle" and would hamper military preparedness.

In February, the Department of Defense announced it would force out transgender troops currently serving.

Seven servicemembers, including Commander Emily Schilling, a Navy fighter pilot, sued to block the ban. Another transgender person who wanted to join the military joined their lawsuit.

They argued the policies "undermine military readiness, endanger our safety, and violate the United States Constitution".

In March, a federal judge in Washington state ordered a nationwide halt on the administration's ban, saying the government failed to show it would enhance "unit cohesion, good order or discipline".

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals did not block the lower court's ruling, keeping the injunction in place.

With the Supreme Court order, that pause will lift while the servicemembers' lawsuit makes its way through lower courts.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called the order "another massive victory in the Supreme Court".