On a Saturday evening in early October, Second Lieutenant Nicolas Talbott drove nearly two hours to his Army Reserve unit in Ohio. He knew what was waiting. A fellow lieutenant, a close friend, handed him the paperwork that begins the process of forcing him out of the military. His battalion commander joined by video. The people he considers family were being made to carry out the policy he is suing to overturn.

Nic had spent years trying to get into the Army, through one policy change after another, before he finally enlisted in 2024, earned recognition at basic training, and was commissioned as an officer. He told The Advocate that he walked into that room with his head high and walked out the same way, because he knows he has served with honor. What he thinks about now is not his own career but his soldiers: what they will think when he doesn’t show up for drill this month, who will finish his projects, who will check on them through the holidays. “I am an American soldier before I am anything else, period, full stop,” he said.

He is one of roughly thirty transgender service members and would-be recruits who have joined this case, drawn from every branch of the armed forces. Among them are a Major, a Captain, a Sergeant, and a Navy pilot. One graduated from West Point. Several hold master’s degrees. Their commendations include a Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendations, and a Sailor of the Year award. Some come from military families whose service stretches back generations. Together they represent decades of deployments around the world, and the work their country asked of them, done with distinction.

On January 27, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order declaring that being transgender, by itself, disqualifies them from serving. The next day, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, GLAD Law, and Wardenski P.C. filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C. Our team now also includes the international law firm O’Melveny. The case began with eight plaintiffs and has grown as more service members stepped forward. Our argument is simple: the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection does not allow the government to strip people of their careers, their livelihoods, and their chance to serve because of who they are. The ban is not about readiness or fitness. Every plaintiff has already proven both. It is about exclusion.

The stakes are personal and immediate. We have won every round in court so far, yet six of our plaintiffs, including Nic, have now received notices starting involuntary separation. When one of them, a Navy lieutenant, went before a board of inquiry in September, the board acknowledged that absent the ban it would recommend keeping her without reservation, based on an exemplary record. These service members face losing a calling, along with the pay, health care, retirement, and community that come with it. Those trying to enlist would be shut out before they can begin. And thousands of other transgender troops are watching to learn whether the country they serve will let them keep serving.

Where the case stands 

• March 18, 2025: The district court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the ban while the case proceeds.

• June 1, 2026: The D.C. Circuit upheld that injunction as to the current service member plaintiffs, agreeing they cannot be removed while the litigation continues.

• August 27, 2026: The administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit’s decision. Our response is due November 2.

Now: Because the D.C. Circuit has not yet issued its mandate, the appellate ruling is not in effect, and the military has begun separation proceedings against the plaintiffs who won it. We have asked the court to issue the mandate immediately. The district court has certified a class of transgender service members and prospective recruits, and trial is set to begin January 4, 2027.