Latest news with #transgenderTroops
Fox News
13-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Pentagon stopping gender transition treatment for transgender troops
The Pentagon is ending gender transition treatment for transgender troops, according to a new memo, as officials move to enforce President Donald Trump's plan to boot transgender troops out of the U.S. military. Under the instructions, the Defense Department is prohibiting any new hormone treatments or surgical procedures for transgender troops, according to the memo, Reuters reported. "I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance," Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Stephen Ferrara wrote in the memo. One transgender service member described the move as "the latest slap in the face" to honorably serving troops. "If there was any doubt left, there is not anymore: transgender service members are no longer entitled to the same standard of medical care as their peers," the service member told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of being targeted. Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed his opposition to gender transition treatment for transgender troops when he re-posted an article on X that said the Pentagon would resume treatments for transgender troops and their dependents. "If this is true - we will find any way possible to stop it," Hegseth wrote. "Taxpayers should NEVER pay for this lunacy." Since being confirmed as Pentagon chief, Hegseth has embraced efforts to eliminate diversity initiatives, particularly those applying to transgender troops. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light for the Trump administration to implement its ban on transgender troops in the military, allowing the Defense Department to discharge thousands of current transgender troops and deny new recruits as legal challenges against the move continue to play out in court. A memo released last week revealed that Hegseth issued instructions to begin kicking out transgender troops who do not voluntarily leave by June 6. Trump had signed an executive order in January shortly after returning to the White House that reversed a Biden administration policy that had allowed transgender troops to serve. Officials have said there are 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, although some transgender rights advocates say the number may be even higher.
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Pentagon ceases gender transition treatments as it moves to boot trans troops
The Pentagon is immediately halting all gender transition treatments for transgender troops as it moves to remove them from the military, according to a new memo. "I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance," Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, wrote in a memo dated May 9. Now the Pentagon will only cover mental health and counseling for gender dysphoria. All other gender dysphoria-related treatments will be referred to the private sector. All scheduled and planned transgender surgeries will be canceled, but cross-sex hormone therapy for service members that began prior to the memo may be continued until they separate to prevent health complications. Last week transgender troops were given between 30 and 60 days to leave or risk being removed "involuntarily." Active duty service members have until June 6, one month after the court's ruling, to leave the military. Reservists have until July 7. The development followed a Supreme Court order that allowed a previously blocked ban on transgender military service to move forward. The Supreme Court's decision effectively paused a lower court's injunction, clearing the way for the Defense Department to implement the policy. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the ruling allows the department to resume policies centered on "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness." Secretary Pete Hegseth added in that memo that those diagnosed with, or showing symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria may choose to leave voluntarily. If they do not, they may face mandatory separation. The Supreme Court did not rule on the underlying legal arguments but allowed President Trump's Jan. 27 executive order barring transgender individuals from military service to take effect. A lower court had temporarily blocked the policy, but Trump administration officials argued that delaying its implementation could harm operational readiness. Officials defending the policy have said it supports the military's need for unit cohesion, readiness, discipline, and cost efficiency. Trump's executive order also directed the Pentagon to revise its medical standards to emphasize combat preparedness and eliminate the use of gender identity-based pronouns within the department. The blanket ban on transgender individuals serving in the military had previously been lifted under President Barack Obama in 2014. The latest policy shift comes as Pentagon leadership under Hegseth moves to dismantle most diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Just last month, he stated that 99.9% of DEI-related policies had been removed. He also announced changes to fitness standards to ensure male and female troops are held to the same requirements for combat readiness.
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Pentagon waiver looks like a Catch-22 to banned transgender troops
WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - So far, none of America's transgender troops who want to continue serving in uniform have applied for a waiver to the Pentagon's ban on their service, Reuters was told by each of the military services. The reason? Because it's impossible to qualify, transgender troops say. Reuters was first to report on Thursday a Pentagon memo outlining its plans to start kicking out transgender servicemembers next month, unless they elect to voluntarily leave on their on own beforehand. For transgender servicemembers carrying out critical missions, from flying combat helicopters to serving on warships overseas, there has been a lot of interest in any legal strategy to continue in uniform. The Pentagon has said waivers would be granted "provided there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities." But the qualifications for a waiver look impossible to comply with, allowing only individuals who meet the following qualifications, laid out in a Pentagon memo from February: * "The service member has never attempted to transition to another sex." * "The service member demonstrates 36 consecutive months of stability in their sex." "As far as I know, no such transgender service member exists," said one transgender service member, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon referred Reuters back to its memo on the qualifications when asked for comment. Nicolas Talbott, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army reserve, said it was impossible to apply for a waiver under the Pentagon's list of exemptions since he had fully transitioned. "It's wild that anybody would think that was something that was actually within the realm of possibility for us to do," Talbott told Reuters. Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law, an advocacy group, said the list of exemptions essentially meant there was no waiver. "It doesn't make sense to file a waiver because they can't serve in their birth sex, because they're transgender people," Levi said. There were no waivers requested from the Air Force or Space Force, while the Army, Navy and Marine Corps said they were also not aware of any service members who had applied for an exemption. As of late last year, there were 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates. The Pentagon said on Thursday about 1,000 service members who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process. A poll from Gallup published this in February said 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals serving in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019. The Pentagon's ban is just one of a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to curb transgender rights. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office on January 20 stating that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that they are not changeable. But Trump's efforts to end transgender rights in the military were a special focus on his election campaign. In the executive order barring transgender troops, the White House said that a man identifying as a woman was "not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member." A former Fox News host, Hegseth has embraced conservative stances on this and other culture war issues, including eliminating diversity initiatives at the Pentagon. Speaking on Tuesday, Hegseth told a conference hosted by U.S. special operations forces: "No more pronouns, no more climate-change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more dudes in dresses."
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
How the military is dealing with Hegseth's order to remove transgender troops
WASHINGTON — The military services scrambled Friday to nail down details and put together new guidance to start removing transgender troops from the force. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth , in a memo released late Thursday, reinstated orders issued earlier this year that said 'expressing a false gender identity divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.'
