This policy shift could impact thousands of military personnel.
According to a Monday report in The Times, citing defense sources, President-elect Donald Trump intends to prohibit transgender individuals from serving in the US military. The plan reportedly involves a post-inauguration executive order discharging currently serving transgender personnel and preventing future enlistment.
Approximately 15,000 openly transgender individuals are currently active in the US military. The proposed discharge would cite medical unfitness based on gender identity. However, the necessity of medical evaluations to determine transgender status remains unclear.
This represents a stricter approach than Trump’s previous 2018 ban, which barred new transgender recruits but allowed those already serving to remain. At the time, Trump cited consultations with military experts, asserting that transgender individuals should not serve in “any capacity,” due to purportedly high medical costs associated with hormone treatments.
President Biden rescinded this ban in 2021.
Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is anticipated to support this measure. The former Fox News host and National Guard veteran, in his book “The War on Warriors,” criticized the military’s embrace of diversity and inclusion, characterizing it as “effeminate,” and advocating for a purge of what he considers to be woke ideology. He argued that the cost of medical care for transgender service members is excessive for the Pentagon.
Sources contend that a potential ban would negatively impact the US military, already struggling with recruitment shortfalls.
“Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, particularly given the military’s 41,000-recruit shortfall last year, increases administrative burdens on combat units, undermines unit cohesion, and exacerbates critical skill gaps,” Rachel Branaman, head of the Modern Military Association of America, told the news outlet. She stated that replacing the lost experience could require two decades and billions of dollars.
Paulo Batista, an openly transgender US Navy analyst, also voiced opposition, predicting widespread disruption within the military.
“Removing 15,000 of us—that’s 15,000 leadership positions, each of us playing a crucial role… When one of us is removed, others have to compensate. Filling those positions could take months or even years,” he told the news outlet.
Trump’s spokesperson declined to comment on the report.