Pentagon Plans to Expel Transgender Troops from Military in Expansion of Trump's Trans Service Ban

Mar. 15, 2025

New Yorkers protest Donald Trump’s first transgender service ban announcement in July 2017.Photo:Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty

The Pentagon has revealed a new plan to identify and remove transgender service members from the military.

A senior Defense Department official outlined the new policy in a memo, which reads, “Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service,” according toCNN.

The memo instructs each military branch to identify trans service members within 30 days and “begin separation actions” no more than 30 days after that,The Washington Postreports. Exceptions will only be made if there is a “compelling government interest” to retain someone that “directly supports warfighting capabilities.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed trans military ban. A Defense Department spokesperson tells PEOPLE, “At this time we are letting the memo speak for itself.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty

The Pentagon’s updated policy follows PresidentDonald Trump’s Jan. 28executive ordercalling to ban transgender troops from serving openly.

At the time, Hegseth did not address how the Pentagon would treat transgender people who are currently serving in the armed forces, though he gave one of his undersecretaries authority to provide “additional policy and implementation guidance.”

The new trans military ban is a fulfillment of Trump’s failedfirst-term policy, which he announced on Twitter on July 26, 2017. In a series of posts, Trump stated that transgender individuals would not be able to serve “in any capacity” in the military.

“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “Thank you.”

Trump was ultimately forced to revise that proposal, banning new transgender recruits but allowing existing trans troops to stay in the military. PresidentJoe Bidenended the recruiting banduring his first week in office.

President Donald Trump at a golf club press conference on Jan. 27, 2025.Joe Raedle/Getty

Joe Raedle/Getty

Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order — which seeks to carry out his original vision for a trans service ban — has been met with significant backlash among current and prospective trans service members.

Two national LGBTQ+ legal organizations have filed a federal lawsuit against the policy,NBC Newsreported, on behalf of six active duty members and two prospective members, all of whom are transgender.

Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said in a statement to NBC that Trump’s trans military ban threatens “fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit.”

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SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit that advocates for transgender troops, shared astatementon Feb. 27, saying, “Transgender Americans have served openly and honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a decade. Thousands of transgender troops are currently serving, and are fully qualified for the positions in which they serve."

“No policy will ever erase transgender Americans’ contribution to history, warfighting, or military excellence,” SPARTA’s statement continued. “Transgender service members have a unique fighting spirit and will continue to defend the constitution and American Values no matter what lies ahead.”

source: people.com