WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a directive mandating the removal of transgender service members from the military within 30 days unless they secure individual waivers. This action follows President Donald Trump’s executive order from late January 2025, which prohibits military service by transgender individuals. The Pentagon’s memo specifies that service members diagnosed with or having a history of gender dysphoria will be processed for separation, with waivers considered only if retaining the individual directly supports warfighting capabilities.
This policy has been met with legal challenges and criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who argue it discriminates against transgender individuals and undermines military inclusivity.
The memo directs the secretaries of each branch to identify service members with gender dysphoria within 30 days and to “begin separation actions” within 30 days after that.
The recent directive is part of a broader policy shift under President Donald Trump’s administration. This decision reinstates and expands a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, reversing policies implemented under former President Joe Biden that allowed open service by transgender individuals.
The issue of transgender individuals in the U.S. military has been a topic of debate for years. In 2016, during the Obama administration, then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that transgender individuals would be allowed to serve openly in the military and receive medical care, including transition-related treatments. This policy ensured that no service member would be discharged solely for being transgender.
However, in 2017, President Trump announced via social media that he intended to reinstate a ban on transgender military service. The administration argued that the policy change was necessary to maintain military readiness and unit cohesion, while critics said it was discriminatory and unfounded.
After legal challenges, the Trump administration revised the policy in 2019, allowing transgender individuals to serve only if they did not transition and continued to identify as their sex assigned at birth. Those who had already transitioned under the previous rules were grandfathered in, meaning they could remain in service.
When Joe Biden took office in 2021, he reversed Trump’s ban, signing an executive order allowing all qualified transgender individuals to serve openly. The order directed the Pentagon to reinstate the 2016 Obama-era policy and required the Department of Defense to review cases of service members who were discharged due to their gender identity.
Trump’s New Policy and Its Implications
Following his re-election in 2024, President Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 reinstating the transgender service ban. The new policy is even stricter than its 2019 predecessor, requiring service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be separated from the military unless they qualify for a waiver. These waivers will be granted only in cases where their continued service is deemed essential to warfighting capabilities.
Under this policy, to qualify for a waiver, service members must:
- Never have attempted a medical or social transition.
- Have maintained at least 36 consecutive months of stability in their assigned sex at birth without experiencing significant distress.
The administration argues that the policy ensures the military focuses solely on combat readiness and national defense. However, LGBTQ+ rights organizations and civil rights groups have strongly condemned the move, calling it a rollback of progress on equality in the armed forces. Several advocacy groups have already filed lawsuits challenging the policy, arguing it violates constitutional protections against discrimination.
As legal battles over this policy unfold, the Department of Defense will begin implementing discharges for transgender troops who do not qualify for waivers. The military’s approach to handling these separations, as well as the response from Congress and the courts, will determine the long-term impact of this decision.
Opposition from Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups is expected to intensify, with calls for Congress to pass legislation protecting transgender service members. Meanwhile, the Biden-era policies allowing transgender troops to serve openly are now fully rescinded, marking a significant shift in military policy under the Trump administration.
This issue will likely remain a focal point in national politics, particularly in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, as policymakers and advocacy groups push for or against the reinstatement of transgender military service rights.
