Fourth Circuit reinstates Pentagon ban on HIV-positive military enlistment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on February 18, 2026, that the Pentagon's categorical ban on enlisting people with HIV was constitutional, overturning a 2024 district court ruling in Wilkins v. Hegseth. Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Paul Niemeyer held that the military's judgment was "reasonably related to its military mission" and that courts owed deference to military medical standards even when those standards contradicted modern science. Lambda Legal and Minority Veterans of America, who brought the case, announced their intent to appeal.