Shilling v. United States

Lambda Legal, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and Perkins Coie filed this case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. We are challenging the Trump Administration’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. We represent six actively serving transgender service members who have between them close to a century of honorable service, a transgender person seeking to enlist, and Gender Justice League, a civil and human rights organization based in Seattle.

The executive order, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” and the so-called “Hegseth Policy” issued by the Department of Defense do not reflect military necessity. They reflect discrimination. Thousands of transgender service members have met the military’s rigorous standards and served with distinction, yet this ban strips them of their careers and blocks other qualified Americans from enlisting simply because of who they are. We argue the ban violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, the Fifth Amendment’s due process protections, the right to free speech, and that it violates equitable estoppel principles.

In March 2025, the trial court blocked the ban nationwide. The Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling, but the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect while the legal challenge proceeds. In October 2025, we argued before the Ninth Circuit that the injunction should be restored. We are now awaiting that ruling while simultaneously preparing for trial, currently scheduled to take place in November 2026.

Learn more about the people behind the service in “Beyond the Uniform.”