After SCOTUS Win, Pentagon Resumes Process Of Removing Trans-Identifying Troops From Service
Following a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pentagon released additional guidance on Thursday to resume the process of removing trans-identifying individuals from the military.
“Here at the Defense Department, we continue to relentlessly pursue the president’s agenda, especially on readiness,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video message.
The agency memo released Thursday lays out deadlines for service members who have a “current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria” to voluntarily separate from the service. Under the directive, the voluntary separation deadline is extended to June 6 for active-duty members and July 7 for reservists.
“Additionally, the Military Departments will immediately begin processing for separation Service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation prior to March 26, 2025,” the memo reads.
An estimated 1,000 troops “who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process,” according to the Defense Department. Hegseth signaled that those diagnosed with the disorder could “eventually” be “involuntarily” separated, or removed, from service should they decline to voluntarily leave.
Military specialists have long highlighted the negative effect authorizing Americans who identify as “transgender” to serve has on military readiness.
As noted by Hegseth, the new guidance is part of the Pentagon’s compliance with an executive order signed by President Trump in January.
That directive declared that the “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria” is “inconsistent” with the “high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity.” It further ordered the secretary of defense to update the military’s medical standards within 60 days of the edict’s issuance to reflect the president’s guidance, which Hegseth began to do in early February.
The Pentagon’s efforts to remove trans-identifying troops from the military were stymied following the issuance of an injunction by a Washington-based district court judge in late March. The injunction and denial of immediate relief from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals prompted the Trump administration to file an emergency application with the Supreme Court seeking to temporarily stay the injunction while proceedings continued in the lower courts.
The high court granted the administration’s request on Tuesday. The decision was 6-3, with the body’s three Democrat appointees dissenting.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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