‘I’m Being Kicked Out’

A Trans Military Commander Confronts Trump’s Ban

A Supreme Court ruling allows the military to ban transgender people from serving. Now, those service members are living with uncertainty.

Commander Emily Shilling

By Katherine Long
05/09/2025 05:15 PM EDT

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of President Donald Trump, clearing the path for the administration to move forward with its plan to ban transgender people from serving in the military. The plan would also remove current transgender service members as the lower courts continue to debate the legality of the ban.

The Supreme Court order is not a final ruling on the issue, but will remain in place as litigation proceeds.

Approximately how many service members will be impacted is unclear. Recent figures from the Defense Department reported 4,240 — or 0.2 percent — of about 2 million service members have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Data from previous years by advocacy groups has calculated the number to be much higher, at around 15,000.

Among those transgender service members is Commander Emily Shilling, who has served in the Navy for almost two decades. A naval aviator with over 60 combat missions under her belt, she is the lead plaintiff suing the administration to overturn the ban. Shilling told Women Rule that it’s her duty not only to follow lawful orders but to challenge those she believes to be unlawful.

Trump unveiled the plan in an executive order on inauguration day. The basis for the order, which Trump also enacted during his first term, is the argument that gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes — a Joe Biden appointee — blocked the move on March 18, but the ruling was subsequently paused by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. A second judge, George W. Bush appointee U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, also blocked the order 10 days later.

The Supreme Court ruling was unveiled in a one-page order, with the three liberal judges dissenting. Neither side provided reasoning for their positions given it was an emergency appeal.

“I’m heartbroken,” said Shilling, who is president of SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit advocacy group for transgender service members.

Now, Shilling’s future, along with many other transgender service members, is riddled with uncertainty

Read Her Whole Interview...

People always say, “Thank you for your service,” and all I can ever say back is “No, thank you to the service for letting me serve.” I graduated college, I started working as an engineer, and I wanted some adventure. I wanted to do something that I felt meant something. When we were in Afghanistan, the thing that drove me was women’s rights. And I was very proud of what we were doing.

I’m heartbroken. I’ve watched something that I’ve dedicated so much energy and so much time to and so much love to. It was the honor of a lifetime to serve in the U.S. Navy, and I just hope that they live up to the sacrifice that we’ve made.