On Monday, President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a new executive order banning transgender troops from serving in the military.
According to a White House document acquired by Fox News Digital, the new order directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to alter medical standards to “prioritize readiness and lethality” and take measures to “end the use of invented and identification-based pronouns” inside DOD.
The decree also bans sleeping, changing, and bathing facilities based on biological sex. It is not an instant ban, but rather a directive for the Secretary of Defense to enact such measures.
It repeals former President Joe Biden’s executive order, which the White House claims “allowed for special circumstances to accommodate ‘gender identity’ in the military – to the detriment of military readiness and unit cohesion.”
The move follows another directive released by Trump last week, which reversed a Biden-era policy that allowed transgender persons to serve in the military.
On the campaign road, Trump threatened to resume the ban on transgender troops, which he enacted during his first term. In his inaugural speech, he stated that he will formally recognize that there are only two genders: male and female.
There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender service personnel; specific numbers are not publicly available.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the DOD spent roughly $15 million between January 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021 on gender-affirming care (surgical and nonsurgical) for 1,892 active duty service members.
The move is part of a push launched by Trump and Hegseth to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices throughout the military. Republican senators also successfully included an amendment in their 2025 defense policy plan that prohibits irreversible transgender care for minors in the military healthcare system.
A day-one directive prohibiting DEI policies across the federal government has already resulted in the removal of 395 officials, according to Fox News Digital.
An edict forcing the federal government to only recognize two genders has outlawed the use of taxpayer funds for “transgender services,” following claims that some detainees were receiving government-funded transgender care. Some states’ Medicaid programs presently fund such treatments.
That ruling also requires federal jails and shelters for migrants and rape victims to be segregated based on biological sex. It would prohibit the use of gender-specific pronouns to refer to transgender people in government buildings and workplaces. Trump’s team claims that these regulations violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.
The decree does not establish a national standard for which toilets transgender persons can use or which sports competitions they can engage in, despite the fact that numerous states have established legislation in these areas.
