Trump can not ban gays from the military

This gives DoD discretion to reject nearly all waiver applications, ensuring that only a handful of transgender individuals — if any — are retained. President Donald Trump on Monday announced he had signed four executive orders that will reshape the military, including banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces.

On February 26, DoD issued the new policydeclaring that transgender and nonbinary individuals will no longer be eligible to join the military, and directing that all trans people currently serving be separated from service. There are about million military service personnel.

5 takeaways on Trump’s

Thousands of trans people are currently serving honorably in the military, and have done so for years. President Trump on Monday signed an executive order effectively barring transgender people from serving openly in the military, renewing a policy he first began implementing in during his.

During his presidency, Donald Trump proposed a policy banning transgender people from serving in the military. The policy also strengthens sex-based restrictions and requirements for all service members — including any transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming members who do not meet the separation criteria or whose separation is not complete.

In addition, while many transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people have a current or historical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria, some do not. Trump had also repeatedly spoken of his plans to restore the ban on trans service members on the campaign trail ahead of the election.

According to the DoD, this creates "medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on [an] individual. In practice, nearly all service members who meet the separation criteria will be denied waivers, as the standards for retention are deliberately vague.

Provisional enlistment policies exist for service members who fail to meet fitness, body fat, or testing standards. After years of legal challenges, the administration enacted a policy that banned. Applicants for military service who meet the separation criteria are disqualified from joining the military.

President Donald Trump has moved to again ban transgender people from serving in the military. The primary purpose of this policy is to bar transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people from military service.

Despite this reality, the Trump administration has targeted and maligned trans service members, leaving tens of thousands of active duty service members, veterans, and members of military families in fear and uncertainty about their jobs, their healthcare, and their futures.

It also explicitly bars transgender individuals who have undergone any hormone replacement therapy HRT or transition-related surgery for the purpose of gender transition, regardless of their current health, fitness, or ability to meet military standards.

Whether someone has a current or historical formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria is a fact that can be objectively verified. In addition, civilian courts and administrative agencies have recognized gender dysphoria as a protected disability under the Americans with Disability Act and similar laws.

While two federal courts had previously issued nationwide orders blocking the implementation of this ban, on May 6 the Supreme Court lifted those orders, clearing the way for DoD to begin removing trans people from military service.

There are no exceptions for service members who transitioned before application to the military. It is possible though not guaranteed that someone who has never received a gender dysphoria diagnosis and who has not legally or medically transitioned might fly under the radar and avoid separation under this policy.

In practice, however, the military regularly grants waivers for service members who do not meet the accession standards for medical issues, physical fitness, criminal conduct, and drug use. The policy also requires service academies to separate any currently enrolled cadets who meet the separation criteria and rescind offers of admission to any applicants who meet the separation criteria.

Supreme Court allows Trump

Thousands of transgender people are currently serving honorably in the military and have been doing so for years. In response, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo on February 7 immediately pausing all gender-affirming medical procedures for service members.

This resource unpacks the impact of this executive order, the implications on medical care for trans service members, how the policy impacts new recruits, and the current status of the military ban. This will make it nearly impossible for service members who meet the separation criteria to challenge a waiver denial.

This policy now characterizes trans people as incapable of the military's "high standards of readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity," because they have a history, or signs of, gender dysphoria. In an executive order signed Monday night, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to craft a.

There may be more ambiguity if someone has undergone HRT or what is often considered transition-related surgery without a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria or for reasons other than gender transition e. This provision creates the illusion of a waiver process, but it is designed to be practically impossible to meet.