The Trump administration has moved to fire transgender members of the military, with the defense department issuing a memo saying they will be separated from service unless they receive an exemption.
The document, filed in court on Wednesday, represent the latest salvo against transgender rights by Donald Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, both of whom have a history of opposition to transgender people and vowed to roll back their participation in government.
“Military service by service members and applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service,” the memo says.
“Service by these individuals is not in the best interests of the military services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security.”
The memo follows Trump’s signing of an executive order in January that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way, describing them as “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member”.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon had said that the US military would no longer allow transgender individuals to join and would stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members. In announcing the policy, Hegseth said people with gender dysphoria already in the military would be “treated with dignity and respect”.
Wednesday’s late-evening memo went further. It said that the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender within 30 days and then, within 30 days of that, must start to separate them from the military.
“It is the policy of the United States government to establish high standards for service member readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” the memo said.
“This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria or who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.”
The defense department said waivers would be granted only “provided there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities”.
There is no requirement for transgender troops to self-identify and the department does not have a precise number.
The military has about 1.3 million active duty personnel, according to Pentagon data. Transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members. Officials say the number is in the low thousands.
The move, which goes further than restrictions Trump placed on transgender service members during his first administration, was described as unprecedented by advocates. “The scope and severity of this ban is unprecedented. It is a complete purge of all transgender individuals from military service,” said Shannon Minter of the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR).
The memo was filed in court as part of a lawsuit brought by the NCLR and Glad Law. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the January executive order and argues that it violates the equal protection component of the fifth amendment.
