The U.S. military is undergoing major policy changes regarding transgender service members following a Presidential Trump directive to ban transgenders from service in the U.S. military.
The ongoing federal litigation challenging this policy. A ruling is expected on Tuesday or Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden-appointed judge, has expressed skepticism and indicated her likely hostility towards Trump’s transgender ban.
The judge was quoted by the Associated Press as saying of transgender troops: “They have to essentially be in hiding while in service.”
The judge was quoted in this ABC story as saying she believed transgenders only had a higher risk of suicide because of discrimination. The judge said the DOJ ‘cherry picked’ evidence and examples to support its claims that transgenders were unfit for military service.
The ongoing litigation contends that Trump’s order violates transgender people’s rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.
On February 26, 2025, the DoD implemented President Trump’s Executive Order 14183, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.”
The policy prohibits transgender individuals from serving openly in the U.S. military and bars those diagnosed with gender dysphoria or related conditions from enlistment, appointment, or retention.
Gender dysphoria is the mental illness where one’s biological sex does not match the gender the individual believes they ought to have.
This move effectively reinstates the Trump-first-term-era policy that was ended by President Biden in 2021.
The DoD argues that the new policy banning transgenders is necessary to maintain combat effectiveness, unit cohesion, and medical readiness.
Transgender therapies, not including surgery, typically costs employers between $25,000-$75,000 per year.
The estimates of how many transgenders are serving in the military ranges from low thousands to a high estimate of 15,000, out of a servicemember population of 1.3 million, representing less than 1% of active duty members.
In his first term, President Donald Trump announced a similar policy banning transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military on July 26, 2017.
This announcement was made via a series of tweets stating that the military would not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve “in any capacity.”
This policy was subject to various injunctions and modifications over the subsequent years.
White House insiders claim that the then-Vice President’s office, Mike Pence, and his Chief of Staff Marc Short were instrumental in delaying and obstructing Trump’s efforts to remove transgenders in the first term.
Notably, in January 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s policy to go into effect while legal battles continued in lower courts.
Navy Details Separation Process for Transgender Troops
Following the new recent directive, the U.S. Navy issued an administrative order on March 14 outlining how transgender personnel will be removed from service.
Under the new policy, transgender service members have until March 28 to submit a voluntary separation request, which will grant them an honorable discharge. Those who take this option may qualify for voluntary separation pay, which is set at double the amount of involuntary separation pay.
Service members who do not voluntarily separate by the deadline will face involuntary removal from the military. Once a separation request is submitted, the individual will be placed in a non-deployable status and given an official exit timeline.
This process has led to backlash from LGBTQ advocacy groups and other organizations who argue that the policy discriminates against transgender troops.
The policy also appears to threaten the captain of the Navy’s Destroyer, the U.S.S. John S. McCain.
The USS John McCain’s new Captain appears to be transgender. A fitting tribute to McCain’s legacy. https://t.co/JCeCAxOtpM pic.twitter.com/qC8fMNJlbL
— Josiah Lippincott (@jlippincott_) September 3, 2024
Biden-Appointed Federal Judge Challenges the Policy
In the related legal battle, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden-appointed judge, has been vocal in her opposition to the Trump administration’s transgender military policy.
During a recent court hearing, Reyes criticized the Department of Defense, calling the policy a “Don’t Tell” strategy designed to purge transgender service members.
Judge Reyes also clashed with DOJ attorneys, demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issue a written retraction over a social media post related to transgender troops.
She also reprimanded DOJ lawyers for defending what she called a “legally questionable and constitutionally dubious” policy. Her harsh rebuke suggests that the administration could face serious legal challenges as it tries to enforce the new military standards.
Legal Battles and Political Fallout
While the Navy is currently leading the charge on implementing the separation process, other branches of the military are expected to follow similar guidelines in the coming weeks.
The legal challenges are only beginning, and given Judge Reyes’ stance, the Trump administration may find itself facing more courtroom battles over its discharge of transgender service members.
For now, transgender troops must decide whether to voluntarily separate or risk involuntary removal as the March 28 deadline approaches.
These policies and changes are recent, and are a departure from longstanding military practice. Only since November 2013, transgender individuals have been able to serve openly in the U.S. military.
Throughout the 2010s, advocacy efforts and policy shifts led to a pivotal announcement on July 13, 2015, by Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who confirmed that the Pentagon would begin the process of lifting the ban on transgender service members.
