Transgender service members actively removed from US military under Trump ban

President Donald Trump's ban on transgender people in the military is in full swing following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision lifting a legal block that had paused the policy.

Trump's promise to ban transgender service members from the military dates back to his first administration. After legal battles, Trump's partial ban went into effect in 2019, but was later repealed by former President Joe Biden. 

Trump returned to the issue on his second term's first day, repealing the Biden-era executive order that allowed transgender people to serve openly in the military. He then returned to it a week later with an executive order again banning transgender military service members. Federal courts initially blocked Trump's second-term attempt to revive a ban, until the Supreme Court on May 6 ruled that the ban could be implemented as litigation moved forward.

Shortly after, the Defense Department released guidance on how transgender service members would be removed from the ranks. In its May 8 memo, the department set deadlines for transgender service members to come forward and "voluntarily" separate from the military. The Pentagon gave active-duty service members until June 6 while reserves and National Guard personnel were given until July 7.

"Approximately 1,000 Service members who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process," chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a May 8 statement. About 4,240 military employees are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to Defense Department data. 

The Defense Department did not respond to PolitiFact with numbers of how many people have separated voluntarily as of July 9. 

Since the June 6 and July 7 deadlines passed, separations are now considered "involuntarily." People who separate involuntarily will receive half the separation pay of those who do so voluntarily.

The Defense Department initially said it would review medical records to identify ineligible transgender service members. Updated guidance says that the agency will identify transgender service members through periodic medical assessments, which will require soldiers to attest as to whether they have a history of gender dysphoria.

A May 15 Defense Department memo also directed commanders "aware of service members in their units with gender dysphoria" to order medical record reviews of those members.

A frequently asked questions document about the policy says that discharges will be "honorable except where the Service member's record otherwise warrants a lower characterization." 

Some transgender service members opted to leave before the June 6 deadline, but others have decided to stay and fight the involuntary separation process. 

Cases weighing the constitutionality of Trump's policy are still moving through the courts, but in the meantime his policy is in motion.

Transgender people are not able to join the military, and current service members are required to leave. For this reason we rate Trump's promise to reinstate the military's transgender ban as a Promise Kept.