Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military has been given the green light by the Supreme Court.
The court granted an emergency request from the Trump administration to lift a nationwide injunction blocking the policy.
The court's three liberal justices - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson - dissented from the ruling.
The decision is a setback for transgender service members who had sued to block the ban.
The policy, announced in February, 'generally disqualifies from military service individuals who have gender dysphoria or have undergone medical interventions for gender dysphoria'
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As is common with emergency requests, the majority did not explain their reasoning in Tuesday's unsigned order.
The policy, announced in February, "generally disqualifies from military service individuals who have gender dysphoria or have undergone medical interventions for gender dysphoria," according to Solicitor General D. John Sauer.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon leadership have ordered military officials to identify all transgender troops by June 25.
The Pentagon guidance claims that "the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service."
The ban also immediately restricts access to gender-affirming care for all transgender service members.
The administration has relied on a Pentagon report claiming people with gender dysphoria are a threat to "military effectiveness and lethality."
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The decision is a setback for transgender service members who had sued to block the ban
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A federal judge in Washington state blocked the policy on March 27, saying "it is not an especially close question".
The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put the ruling on hold, prompting the Trump administration to turn to the Supreme Court.
In a separate case, a judge in Washington, DC also blocked the policy nationwide, but the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit temporarily suspended that ruling whilst hearing arguments.
Judge Ana Reyes condemned the president's "demeaning", "biologically inaccurate" and "frankly ridiculous" language in the executive order.
Her injunction was intended to "maintain the status quo of military policy regarding transgender service" that existed before Trump's order.
Nine justices sit on the Supreme Court
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The Trump administration argued that judges are required to show "substantial deference" to the Department of Defence's judgment on military issues.
In contrast, the challengers contend the ban violates the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which requires laws to apply equally to everybody.
"An unprecedented degree of animus towards transgender people animates and permeates the ban: it is based on the shocking proposition that transgender people do not exist," the challengers' lawyers wrote in court papers.
Transgender service members told the Supreme Court they "have served in our military for years with honour and distinction".
They warned that lifting the injunction would "immediately trigger" removal proceedings for "thousands of transgender service members, causing reputational, professional, and constitutional harm".
