Nonbinary Army Soldiers Fight DOD Dismissals Under Trump's Military Transgender Ban

Transgender lawsuit plaintiff Nicholas Talbott told Military.com that the legal process has had him "teetering on the edge of a cliff."

The legal fight among nonbinary soldiers against the Trump administration's military transgender ban has taken another step.

New legal briefs have been filed ahead of a January trial in the case Talbott v. U.S., a federal class-action civil rights lawsuit filed in January 2025 that challenges President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender individuals from serving in the military.

The Trump policy against transgender troops in the military recognizes only two biological sexes—male and female—restricting transgender rights in the military, as well as in federal agencies and in the health care field. The policy includes an executive order from the president, prohibiting transgender individuals from military service.

U.S. Army Reserve Second Lt. Nicolas Talbott is the lead plaintiff in the case and is facing dismissal from the service over his identity.

"We have a trial scheduled for January in our case challenging this ban," Talbott told Military.com. "Now that we’re approaching the date of that trial, it seems like our dismissals are being expedited.

"Getting the call to attend a meeting where separation proceedings would be started against me, it’s like I’ve been teetering on the edge of a cliff for a while now, and finally somebody came along and pushed me over the edge."

In June, a U.S. Appeals Court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the ban. However, Talbott and his attorneys maintain the Trump administration is still moving forward with separation proceedings against some of the plaintiffs.

The latest brief in the case asks the appeals court to issue a mandate, immediately blocking military transgender dismissals and preventing the government from enforcing the transgender ban. The court has not yet ruled.

"My highest goal is to continue serving my country, alongside the soldiers I have trained and led," Talbott added. "It’s those soldiers I am thinking about now. What are they going to think when I don’t show up this month?

"I should be there leading them, supporting them, getting them ready, rather than getting paid to sit at home on administrative leave while this plays out. I am an American soldier before I am anything else.”

Defense Secretary Accused of Anti-Trans Slurs

Another plaintiff in the case, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Amiah Sale, is stationed in South Korea and for now is still serving.

Lawyers in the class-action suit confirmed to Military.com that her status has not changed, despite a television interview in September where Sale scrutinized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his stance against transgender troops serving in the military.

Sale told MS Now that Hegseth should say his anti-trans slurs "to my face."

"I know people say a lot of things about transgender service members who don't know us and haven't seen us in action," Sale told Military.com from her post in South Korea. "The people I've worked with, the people who know me and my service, know that I am just as capable as any other soldier."

Hegseth has made repeated comments in public and on social media during the past year, expressing his opposition to transgender active-duty troops.

Hegseth, during an appearance Aug. 7 at the Iowa State Fair, told attendees: "At the Department of War, we do training, not trannies."

Sale took offense to what she deemed a slur, especially because of Hegseth's background as a fellow soldier and former major in the Army National Guard.

"Soldiers are loyal to each other because sometimes all we have is each other," Sale told Military.com. "I would never want to degrade a fellow soldier, and my experience from my nearly 20 years of service is that anyone who has served alongside other soldiers, walked where they’ve walked, seen what they’ve seen, done what they’ve done, feels the same."

Sale considers the administration's military transgender policy a direct attempt to force her out of service because of her gender identity.

“It not only hurts myself or my family. It hurts my unit,” Sale told MSNow. “The millions of dollars that it took to make me a trained and proficient leader are just thrown away when we say, ‘Oh, we don’t want them anymore. They’re the wrong kind of American.’”

Trump's Transgender Policy Could Be Unconstitutional

In late August, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether the policy violates the Constitution.

In an argument before the highest court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said barring the federal government from enforcing the transgender military ban is “gravely erroneous” and if allowed to stand, it “would represent an unprecedented intervention into military affairs" by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Sale's status with the Army is in limbo. While she is currently serving in South Korea, last March she was ordered to appear before a military separation board.

She told MS NOW that three senior officers met behind closed doors without her, and ultimately decided to recommend separating her from military service.

GLAD Law said in a statement that Sale’s exclusion violated basic due process. Service members accused of crimes are allowed to attend their boards and defend themselves.

“She wasn't even allowed in the room when, in just 20 minutes, a board moved to separate her from the military,” a statement from GLAD law read. "This is the process transgender service members now face: opaque, rushed, and stacked against them before it starts.

"We'll keep fighting to ensure brave, qualified service members can't be cast aside because of this administration's animosity toward transgender people."

This month, Sale marks 20 years of military service—the traditional threshold for retirement eligibility. She said she does not know whether the Army will retire her, formally separate her, or allow her to remain on active duty until the courts resolve the Talbott case.

"In the Army, we ask to be judged on what we are capable of, on the shooting range, in a fitness test, on the battlefield," Sale told Military.com. "I am confident that anyone who looked me in the eye, looked at my record, and saw my accomplishments firsthand would see that I am qualified, that I am a patriot, and that I am dedicated to serving my country.”