In May, official records revealed that the Pentagon had spent over $26 million on medical care for transgender troops since 2020.
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.
