logo
ENع
US troops will no longer be allowed to claim trans healthcare

US troops will no longer be allowed to claim trans healthcare

Yahoo12-05-2025

The Pentagon is halting gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops as it takes steps to remove them from the US armed forces.
'I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance,' Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defence for health affairs, said in a memo.
The Defence Health Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move was well signposted by an administration that campaigned last year on promises to take a common sense attitude to transgender issues.
In January, soon after taking office, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces.
'A man's assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honour this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,' runs the order.
Then last week Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, issued instructions to the Pentagon to start expelling transgender troops who do not resign by June 6.
It said the department would 'initiate involuntary separation processes' for anyone who did not leave voluntarily.
A Pentagon spokesman said about 1,000 troops had self-identified with gender dysphoria and begun the separation process.
It is an illustration of how Mr Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter, has put the 'war on woke' at the centre of the way he runs the Pentagon.
He won a green light from the Supreme Court last week, paving the way for a ban to take effect.
'No more trans at the (US) Department of Defence,' he posted after the court issued a brief order granting an emergency request from the Trump administration to lift a nationwide injunction against its policy while other lawsuits make their way through the courts.
Three liberal justices dissented.
There are 4,240 active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, according to officials, but activists put the number far higher.
In the meantime, public opinion has been hardening against allowing transgender troops in the armed forces.
A Gallup poll published in February found that 58 per cent of Americans were in favour of allowing transgender troops. That number has fallen from 71 per cent six years ago.
Mr Trump targeted transgender troops during his first term. After six months in office he announced he would ban transgender people in the military but then his administration spent two years navigating legal challenges.
It eventually reached a compromise that allowed anyone already serving to stay but barred recruits who were taking hormones or transitioning to another gender.
Two appeals courts continue to weigh the latest policy.
Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at Glad Law, wrote in a letter to the Washington DC court of appeals: 'The directive restates the unsupported assertion that 'expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service, further corroborating the district court's finding that the transgender military ban was motivated by animus against transgender people as a group.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities
Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has flipped her stance on Iran after President Donald Trump nuked her intelligence as 'wrong.' Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 25 that there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was building nuclear weapons, though the country had enriched its uranium to higher levels. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's June 12 'preemptive' strike on Iran—which he justified by saying that the country has a 'secret plan' to weaponize uranium—Trump sided with Israel's countervailing position. On two separate occasions this week, Trump rebuffed Gabbard's earlier assessment of Iran's nuclear program. 'I don't care what [Gabbard] said,' Trump said aboard Air Force One. 'I think they were very close to having one.' In another comment on Wednesday, the president added that Iran was 'a few weeks' away from turning their uranium into a weapon, echoing similar sentiments shared by Netanyahu. Then on Friday, Gabbard fell in line with Trump, attacking the media for having the gall to believe what she said. 'The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,' Gabbard wrote to her 600K followers. 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.' She added, 'President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' Gabbard included a clip of what she called her 'full testimony,' which has since racked up 8.9 million views. The world has been thrown into a state of limbo while Trump weighs a decision on whether to get the United States involved in strikes on Iran, a decision the country warned would be 'very dangerous.' In a statement read on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said he would make his decision 'within the next two weeks' based on the fact that there 'is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.' Reuters reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with a group of European diplomats in Geneva on Friday for nuclear talks.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store