Pentagon on Thursday announced it will start removing openly transgender service members from the US military, following the supreme court’s recent decision allowing enforcement of the Trump administration’s long-pending ban. Defence secretary Pete Hegseth issued the directive within hours of the ruling, saying that roughly 1,000 transgender personnel who have publicly identified will now be moved out of service. Others have 30 days to self-report before the department begins examining medical records to identify additional cases. In a social media post after the decision, Hegseth wrote “No more trans at DoD,” reinforcing his earlier remarks at a special operations conference in Florida, where he said the military was abandoning “wokeness and weakness.” He also told the audience, “No more pronouns,” in reference to gender identity practices within the forces. According to Pentagon data, 4,240 active duty, national guard, and reserve troops had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria as of December 2024. However, officials acknowledge that the actual number may be higher, given that not all individuals have come forward or received formal diagnoses. The new policy mirrors one introduced in February but halted due to ongoing litigation. Now, with legal barriers lifted, the department of defence is moving swiftly to implement the ban.
