He wants the high court to allow the ban to take effect while lawsuits challenging the ban proceed in the lower courts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The high court filing follows a brief order from a federal appeals court that kept in place a court order blocking the policy nationwide.

Lower courts had blocked the policy, saying it was not supported by evidence and violated equal protection principles.