Pentagon to ban transgender people from joining military, pauses gender transition procedures

Washington: The US military will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth filed in court on Monday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way -- at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was "not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member."

"Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused," Hegseth said in a memo dated Feb. 7 and filed on Monday with the US District Court in Washington, D.C.

"All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused," he said.

Hegseth said individuals with gender dysphoria already in the military would be "treated with dignity and respect," and the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness would provide additional details on what this would mean.

The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, according to Department of Defense data. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.

A poll from Gallup published on Monday said 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals serving in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019.

Last week, a U.S. judge asked lawyers for Trump's administration to ensure that six military members who sued to stop the executive order targeting transgender troops are not removed from service before further court proceedings are held.

Civil rights organizations had filed for a temporary restraining order after a service member alleged that she was told she must either be classified as a man or be separated from the military.

Miriam Perelson, a 28-year-old female transgender service member based at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, had said she was required to leave the sleeping area for female troops, given a cot in an empty classroom and not allowed to use the female restrooms.