President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to sign an executive order on his "first day in office" that would ban transgender members from serving in the military. The controversial order could see up to 15,000 active-duty service members being "medically discharged" as they would be considered unfit for service, according to The Sunday Times
The report says Trump aims to implement the policy on January 20, 2025, the day his new term begins, barring transgenders from enlisting in any branch of the military, all of which are currently grappling with recruitment challenges. The 78-year-old former president has nominated former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to head the Department of Defense.
Trump's Big Plans
He has also vowed to eliminate "woke" policies across all government agencies. This is not Trump's first attempt to get rid of trans people from military service. In 2017, during his presidency, Trump announced via a series of tweets his plan to ban transgender people from serving in the armed forces.
At that time, the White House said that retaining service members with a history or diagnosis of "gender dysphoria"—a condition requiring significant medical care—posed "considerable risk to military effectiveness" and combat readiness.
Trump also tweeted that the military "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption" that accommodating transgender people would involve.
The Obama administration reversed a longstanding policy, allowing military personnel to serve openly as transgender individuals.
President Biden overturned the previous policy on his fifth day in office in January 2021, reinstating the ability for transgender people to serve openly in the military. Since then, the military has worked to spotlight the achievements of transgender service members.
In 2022, the Air Force honored Major Jason Vero, a transgender pilot with numerous awards and honors. The following year, the Army celebrated Major Rachel Jones, chief of the U.S. Army Sustainment Command Cyber Division, who shared that living and serving "authentically" had been life-saving for her.
In May, official records revealed that the Pentagon had spent over $26 million on medical care for transgender troops since 2020.
The Big Divide
According to Department of Defense data reported by Daily Mail, the number of Army personnel diagnosed with gender dysphoria doubled during this time, rising from approximately 1,800 to 3,700.
Over the past three years, $17.5 million in taxpayer funds has been allocated to psychotherapy for transgender service members, while $1.5 million has gone toward hormone therapy.
Besides, $7.6 million has been spent on gender-affirming surgeries for military personnel, including procedures to enhance facial features for a more masculine or feminine appearance, as well as surgeries to remove or create breasts and genitalia.
The U.S. Military Health System allocates around $50 billion annually to provide healthcare for 9.6 million active-duty members, retirees, and their families through the TRICARE health plans. Although TRICARE typically does not cover gender dysphoria-related surgeries, its website states that active-duty personnel can request waivers for medically necessary gender-affirming procedures.
The exact number of transgender people serving in the military remains unclear, as not all may have sought treatment. However, as of April 2024, 3,700 active service members had been diagnosed and treated for gender dysphoria, according to Peter Graves, a spokesman for the Defense Health Agency (DHA).
