Transgender military ban will take effect during ongoing court battle

Reyes said she wanted to allow more time for the appeals process. She also said she had previously allowed plenty of time to appeal her earlier opinion blocking the ban from going into effect. 

"I don't want to jam up the D.C. Circuit. That's my main concern here," Reyes said during the March 21 hearing. "My chambers worked incredibly hard to get out an opinion on time."

Reyes gave the government a 3 p.m. deadline that same day to return about her request to push the deadline. 

The government responded, saying it agreed to delay the March 26 deadline to March 28. 

A decision from the high court, however, is not expected until May or June. 

"The Skrmetti decision will occupy a good bit of the field here and provide some guidance. And so I doubt the D.C. Circuit is going to feel the need to rush things," Charles Stimson, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. 

"If I was sitting on the D.C. Circuit and I had all these other cases coming my way, and I was on a three-judge panel, I don't think it'd be the top of my pile."

Despite the looming deadline, Stimson said the ban will be "on pause" as the parties work through the appellate process. 

"I don't think the secretary is going to do anything in violation of a court order," Stimson said. "Even if they disagree with that, you'd be wise not to."

The Trump administration further requested that, if the motion to dissolve is denied, the court should stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal.

The government cited new guidance issued March 21 that it expected to enact the policy it not for the ongoing litigation. The guidance clarified that "the phrase 'exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria'" solely applies to "'individuals who exhibit such symptoms as would be sufficient to constitute a diagnosis.'"

Under the requirements, a party requesting to dissolve a preliminary injunction must demonstrate "a significant change either in factual conditions or in law" that shows that continued enforcement of the order would be "detrimental to the public interest." 

"The March 21, 2025, guidance constitutes a 'significant change,'" the filing states. "Whereas the Court has broadly construed the scope of the DoD Policy to encompass all trans-identifying servicemembers or applicants, the new guidance underscores Defendants' consistent position that the DoD Policy is concerned with the military readiness, deployability, and costs associated with a medical condition - one that every prior Administration has, to some degree, kept out of the military."

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.