Hegseth implements Trump's ban on transgender recruits, gender-affirming medical care
This directive comes in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's executive order 13 days ago.
About 15,000 transgender individuals are currently serving in the U.S. military, including active duty and reserve forces, according to the independent research institute Palm Center in 2018. This represents about 1% of 1.3 million active-duty personnel.
The memo, obtained by media outlets, including ABC and The Hill, was addressed to senior Pentagon leadership and military command on Friday.
"Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused," the memo said.
"Individuals with gender dysphoria have volunteered to serve our country and will be treated with dignity and respect."
He added the Department of Defense would provide "additional policy and implementation guidance" to service members "with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria."
The Defense Department spent about $15 million on surgical and non-surgical care for 1,892 transgender active-duty service members between 2016 and 2021, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Of that amount, $11.5 million was for psychotherapy and $3.1 million on surgeries.
He explained the rationale for the ban: "The Department of Defense's mission requires Service members to abide by strict mental and physical standards," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "The lethality, readiness, and warfighting capability of our Force depends on Service members meeting those standards.
"The Department must ensure it is building 'One Force' without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence Efforts to split our troops along the lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated," he added.
Trump signed the executive order on Jan. 28, rescinding President Joe Biden administration policies that permitted transgender service members to serve openly in the military based on their gender identity. In 2017, Trump banned the service of transgender troops as ordered by President Barack Obama in 2016.
Then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said transgender troops who had begun receiving treatment under the Obama-era policy were grandfathered in.
Trump's new order said that receiving gender-affirming medical care is physically and mentally "incompatible with active duty."
Trump's directive is being challenged in federal court in two lawsuits by LGBTQ+ rights groups on behalf of active-duty transgender service members.
"By categorically excluding transgender people, the 2025 Military Ban and related federal policy and directives violate the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Fifth Amendment and the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment," states the lawsuit by the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal on behalf of six transgender military personnel. "They lack any legitimate or rational justification, let alone the compelling and exceedingly persuasive ones required. Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek declaratory, and preliminary and permanent injunctive, relief."
GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a separate lawsuit of six additional active duty service members.
Hegseth's memo "underscores the urgency of the need for court intervention," Shannon Minter, lead counsel of NCLR, told ABC News in a statement Monday.
Trump has been targeting transgender people in other orders, including one declaring the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female.
On Wednesday, he prohibited transgender female athletes from competing on girls and women's sports teams.
Approximately, 1.6 million people in the United States identify as transgender, which is about 0.6% of the population 13 and older, according to the Williams Institute. Approximately 25% of transgender people report having undergone some form of gender-affirming surgery.
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China is a close ally of Cambodia, and had early in the fighting urged the two nations to resolve their differences peacefully, but Hun Manet's statement appeared to be the first mentioning a Chinese link to Monday's planned talks. Trump posted on the Truth Social social network Saturday that he spoke to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would not move forward with trade agreements with either country if the hostilities continued. He later said both sides agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said earlier Sunday his country agreed to pursue an 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire.' He said Trump told him that Thailand had also agreed to halt attacks following the U.S. president's conversation with Phumtham. Phumtham thanked Trump and qualified Thailand's position, saying it agreed in principle to a ceasefire but stressed the need for 'sincere intention' from Cambodia, the Thai Foreign Ministry said. 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Richa Suksowanont, a Thai army deputy spokesperson, said Cambodian forces fired heavy artillery into Surin province, including at civilian homes, early Sunday. He said Cambodia also launched rocket attacks targeting the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, claimed by both countries, and other areas in a bid to reclaim territory secured by Thai troops. Thai forces responded with long-range artillery to strike Cambodian artillery and rocket launchers. Battlefield operations will continue and a ceasefire can only happen if Cambodia formally initiates negotiations, he added. 'Cambodian attacks remain irregular and may constitute violations of rules of engagement, posing further risk to border communities,' said the Thai military's daily summary of the fighting issued Sunday night. "The situation remains highly tense, and it is anticipated that Cambodia may be preparing for a major military operation prior to entering negotiations," it said. Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata accused Thai forces of escalating the violence with bombardment of Cambodian territory early Sunday, followed by a "large-scale incursion" involving tanks and ground troops in multiple areas. 'Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand's clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,' she said. Thailand on Sunday reported a new death of a soldier, bringing its total number of fatalities to 22, mostly civilians. Cambodia said 13 people have been killed, though it was unclear if that included Lt. Gen. Duong Samnieng, whose death in combat was announced Sunday. More than 139,000 people in Thailand have evacuated to safe locations and over 79,000 people fled from three Cambodian provinces. Many border villages are mostly deserted, with many schools and hospitals shut. Pichayut Surasit, an air-conditioning technician in Thailand, said the sudden outbreak of fighting meant leaving his work in Bangkok to return home to protect his family. 'I didn't have the heart to continue with my work when I heard the news. I wanted to come back as soon as possible, but I had to wait until the evening,' he said. Now at a shelter in Surin housing some 6,000 evacuees, Pichayut worries for his wife and twin daughters, hoping the conflict will end soon so they can return to their home in Kap Choeng district, one of the hardest hit by shelling. Bualee Chanduang, a local vendor who moved to the same shelter Thursday with her family and pet rabbit, is counting on swift negotiations to end the violence. 'I pray for God to help so that both sides can agree to talk and end this war,' she said. At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV said he was praying for all those affected by war in the world, including 'for those affected by the clashes on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, especially the children and displaced families.' The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
