Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowed the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military.
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is set to start immediately relocating up to 1,000 openly transgender service members out of the military, while providing others with a 30-day window to disclose their identity, according to a new directive released on Thursday.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday that permits the Trump administration to implement a ban on transgender individuals in the military, the Defense Department will proceed to review medical records to find those who have not self-identified.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued the latest memo, made his views clear after the court’s decision.
“No More Trans @ DoD,” Hegseth posted on X. Earlier, prior to the court’s decision, Hegseth expressed a firm stance at a conference, stating that his department is moving past wokeness and perceived weakness. “No more pronouns,” he declared at a special operations forces event in Tampa.
Department officials have said it’s difficult to determine exactly how many transgender service members there are, but medical records will show those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, who show symptoms or are being treated.
Those troops would then be involuntarily forced out of the service.
Officials have said that as of Dec. 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the active duty, National Guard and Reserve. But they acknowledge the number may be higher.
The memo released on Thursday mirrors one sent out in February, but any action was stalled at that point by several lawsuits.
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