The United States military is set to begin removing transgender troops from service within 30 days, unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, according to a memo released by the Pentagon on Wednesday.
This move comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in late January aimed at barring military service by transgender personnel.
The memo states that service members with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service. However, they may be considered for a waiver if there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities.
To obtain a waiver, troops must demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability in their sex without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. They must also show that they have never attempted to transition.
This policy reversal is the latest development in a series of changing policies on transgender military service in the US. In 2016, the Obama administration lifted a ban on transgender troops, allowing them to serve openly. However, the Trump administration postponed the implementation of this policy and eventually reversed it in 2019.
President Joe Biden reversed the Trump administration’s restrictions on transgender military service in 2021, but President Trump has once again taken aim at transgender military service with his latest executive order.
Transgender issues have become a highly contentious topic in US politics, with states controlled by Democrats and Republicans moving in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.