Transgender US service members will be separated from military, Pentagon memo shows

ReutersLast Updated: Feb 27, 2025, 10:17:00 AM IST

Synopsis

A Pentagon memo indicates that transgender U.S. service members will be discharged unless exempted, per a new directive from President Trump. The military must identify and separate transgender personnel within 60 days, underscoring a policy shift targeting transgender troops.

Transgender U.S. service members will be separated from the military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way - at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was "not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member."

The memo said that the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender within 30 days and then within 30 days of that must separate them from the military.