The Pentagon is immediately halting all gender transition treatments for transgender troops as it moves to remove them from the military, according to a new memo.
“I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance,” Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, wrote in a memo dated May 9.
Now the Pentagon will only cover mental health and counseling for gender dysphoria. All other gender dysphoria-related treatments will be referred to the private sector.
All scheduled and planned transgender surgeries will be canceled, but cross-sex hormone therapy for service members that began prior to the memo may be continued until they separate to prevent health complications.
Last week, transgender troops were given between 30 and 60 days to leave or risk being removed “involuntarily.”
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Active-duty service members have until June 6, one month after the court’s ruling, to leave the military. Reservists have until July 7.
The development follows a Supreme Court order that allowed a previously blocked ban on transgender military service to move forward.
The Supreme Court’s decision effectively paused a lower court’s injunction, clearing the way for the Defense Department to implement the policy. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the ruling allows the department to resume policies focused on “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added in that memo that those diagnosed with or showing symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria may choose to leave voluntarily. If they do not, they may face mandatory separation.
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The Supreme Court did not rule on the underlying legal arguments but allowed President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order barring transgender individuals from military service to take effect.
A lower court had temporarily blocked the policy, but Trump administration officials argued that delaying its implementation could harm operational readiness.
Officials defending the policy have said it supports the military’s need for unit cohesion, readiness, discipline and cost efficiency.
Trump’s executive order also directed the Pentagon to revise its medical standards to emphasize combat preparedness and eliminate the use of gender identity-based pronouns within the department.
The blanket ban on transgender individuals serving in the military had previously been lifted under President Barack Obama in 2014.
The latest policy shift comes as Pentagon leadership under Hegseth moves to dismantle most diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Last month, he stated that 99.9% of DEI-related policies had been removed. He also announced changes to fitness standards to ensure male and female troops are held to the same requirements for combat readiness.
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