WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow the Pentagon to enforce its ban on troops who suffer from gender dysphoria or have undergone transgender medical treatments.
The Trump administration’s appeal comes after two federal judges blocked the administration from removing troops who identify as transgender, ruling that the Trump order is probably unconstitutional and motivated by discrimination rather than negative impacts on the military. But the Defense Department’s policy is based on findings during the first Trump administration showing that individuals with gender dysphoria impact “military effectiveness and lethality,” as the appeal states.
Service members who undergo so-called transition surgeries can take a minimum of 12 months to recover, often using heavy narcotics, and during this time they are not physically…
