WASHINGTON, DC—Following a brief argument today, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion for class certification in Talbott v. USA (formerly Talbott v. Trump), the ongoing legal challenge to the Trump-Hegseth ban on transgender military service brought by the National Center for LGBTQ Rights and GLAD Law. The Talbott plaintiffs filed a motion on April 15, 2026, seeking to certify a class of all transgender individuals who are or were in active-duty service or pursuing accession in the military on or after January 28, 2025, the date Talbott v. USA was initially filed. Today’s ruling comes on the heels of a June 1, 2026, decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which upheld the District Court’s preliminary injunction and halted the discharge of the Talbott servicemember plaintiffs. Through class certification the plaintiffs seek to extend protections won in Talbott v. Trump to all transgender servicemembers currently serving and to ensure future rulings against the transgender military ban will apply to all members of the class.

“The protection afforded to our plaintiffs should be available to all transgender servicemembers and their families,” said National Center for LGBTQ Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter.  “We know that this ban is discriminatory, rooted in animus, and irrationally excludes highly decorated servicemembers who have deployed around the world and given everything to our country.”

“Transgender servicemembers have met every standard required to wear the uniform—the same training, fitness requirements, and sacrifice. Aspiring transgender recruits are asking only to be held to those same high standards,” said GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi. “Setting military policy based on bias and prejudice is destabilizing for the military and our country. And as the District Court found, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, the government has no legitimate basis for forcing them out for reasons unrelated to their ability to serve.”

Talbott v. Trump was the first legal challenge filed against President Trump’s recent transgender military ban executive order. NCLR’s Shannon Minter and GLAD Law’s Jennifer Levi, the lead attorneys in Talbott, are transgender themselves and each have more than three decades of experience litigating landmark and key LGBTQ cases. Together, Minter and Levi led the legal fight in 2017 against the transgender military ban in Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump, which also secured a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking that ban.

Talbott was brought by LGBTQ+ legal groups the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) and GLAD Law along with legal counsel from Wardenski P.C. and Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein.

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The National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding in 1977, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. www.nclrights.org  

GLAD Law (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) has been a leading force in LGBTQ+ rights for nearly 50 years. With deep roots in New England and impact nationwide, we use strategic litigation, legislation, and public education to fight discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and HIV status. GLAD Law’s bold strategy and precedent-setting victories have reshaped the legal landscape, advancing equality for all people facing discrimination and social barriers. www.gladlaw.org