An estimated 1,000 service members have been discharged from the military following the Supreme Court’s ruling permitting the Trump administration’s ban on transgender-identifying troops.
“The Secretary is encouraged by the Supreme Court’s order staying the lower court’s injunction, allowing the Department of Defense to carry out its policies associated with ‘Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,'” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, explaining that the Defense Department will “issue guidance to the Military Departments and Services ending the accession of individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and all non-medically necessary treatment.”
“Approximately 1,000 Service members who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process,” Parnell said.
According to a memo issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, service members who have a “current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily” and “may also be eligible for voluntary separation pay.”
On May 6, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration, allowing the ban on transgender individuals in the military to proceed as litigation continues. The court order said that Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented.
“Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” President Trump’s order on military readiness stated. “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”
