Pentagon Releases Guidance on Trans Military Ban, Seeks to Lift Court Order

2025-03-23279 readsReportShareAudio

A rally against the transgender military service ban in Washington in 2019

The U.S. Department of Defense released new guidance on Friday regarding the implementation of President Donald Trump's ban on transgender individuals in the military and asked a federal judge to revoke her recent order blocking the ban.

The memorandum from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense states that the Department of Defense will review service members' medical records and distribute self - assessment questionnaires to them within 45 days. This is to determine whether they have a current diagnosis, history, or symptoms of gender dysphoria, which could render them ineligible for continued service. Gender dysphoria refers to the distress experienced when a person's gender identity does not match their birth sex.

The White House, the Department of Defense, and the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The memo indicates that the exclusion of people with symptoms of gender dysphoria applies only to those with "marked incongruence and clinically significant distress or impairment for at least six months," citing the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

It also notes that the ban cannot currently take effect due to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington on Wednesday. In response to a lawsuit filed by transgender current and would - be service members, Judge Reyes blocked the Trump administration's ban.

On Friday, Justice Department lawyers filed a motion asking Judge Reyes to lift her order in light of the new guidance. They argued that Judge Reyes' order wrongly determined that the policy discriminates against people based on their transgender identity and that the new guidance clearly shows it is based on a medical diagnosis.

Judge Reyes had already rejected a similar argument when she blocked the policy.

She had put her order on hold until 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday to give the government a chance to appeal. In Friday's motion, the government said it plans to appeal and asked Judge Reyes to keep her order on hold during the appeal process if she does not lift it.

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Pentagon Releases Guidance on Trans Military Ban, Seeks to Lift Court Order

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