The Trump Pentagon, led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, is pausing all accessions for transgender recruits and also pausing medical procedures that affirm or facilitate a gender transition, according to a memo.
The memo, dated February 7, 2025, addressed to senior Pentagon leadership and others, states that the Department “must ensure it is building ‘One Force’ without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence.”
“Efforts to split out troops along lines of identity weaken our force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated,” it continues before citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14183 on “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.”
The order states in part [emphasis added]:
Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false “gender identity”…
