Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday told Pentagon officials to start separating transgender service members from the military starting early next month if they don’t agree to leave the armed forces on their own.
President Trump had issued an executive order soon after entering the White House, stating that expressing a gender identity different from biological sex wasn’t compatible with military service.
“Service by individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibiting symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is not in the best interest of the military services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security,” Mr. Hegseth wrote in the new memorandum, dated Thursday.
The memo follows Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enact its military transgender ban, which had been temporarily blocked from taking effect by a lower court injunction.
“This is the president’s agenda and this is what the American people voted for,” Mr. Hegseth said in a post on X. “We’re going to relentlessly pursue it.”
The Modern Military Association of America, which describes itself as the nation’s largest organization of LGBT servicemembers, said it was shocked and devastated by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“Thousands of transgender Americans have served openly for almost 10 years with honor, courage, and effectiveness,” the organization said in a statement. “By disregarding their service record and ignoring all recent rulings that found the ban discriminatory, unjust, and lacking basis, our nation’s highest court has betrayed American heroes.”
The Pentagon said about 1,000 service members who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary process to leave the military and could be eligible for separation pay.
The eligibility window to self-identify for voluntary separation was extended to June 6, 2025.
The Defense Department will begin involuntarily separating transgender military personnel after the June 6 eligibility window closes.
