The move is in compliance with an executive order signed by President Trump that effectively bans trans military service.
“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,” Hegseth wrote in a memorandum for senior Pentagon leadership, commanders of the combatant commands and Defense agency and DoD field activity directors dated Friday and unreported until now.
The one-page memo is the latest step in implementing Trump’s order barring transgender people from serving openly in the military, part of a broader effort to combat what the administration has described as “gender insanity” in the federal government.
The Jan. 27 order, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” states, “Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for Military Service.”
“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,” Hegseth wrote.
The Department of Justice filed the memo as part of a lawsuit challenging Trump’s order. The plaintiffs in that case, six transgender active-duty service members and two individuals seeking to enlist in the military, had requested the department notify them whenever the administration issued guidance on implementing the executive order.
DOJ identified three additional memos from the Navy, Air Force and Army directing recruiters to reject transgender applicants, and another memo from Hegseth dated Jan. 31 that instructs DoD to take steps to implement the order.
“Biological sex is an immutable characteristic,” Hegseth wrote in the Jan. 31 memo. “It is not fluid, and it cannot transform. Gender ideology denies this fundamental reality, and places women at risk by allowing biological males to gain access to intimate, single-sex spaces.”
Two federal lawsuits argue Trump’s executive order preventing transgender troops from serving is unconstitutional.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
