By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Pentagon is halting gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops as it moves to implement President Donald Trump’s plan to kick them out of the U.S. military, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday.
The instructions from the Defense Department barred any new hormone treatments as well as any surgical procedures for transgender troops, the memo said.
“I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance,” Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in the memo.
The Pentagon referred questions to the Defense Health Agency, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 6 permitted Trump’s administration to implement his ban on transgender people in the military, allowing the armed forces to discharge the thousands of current transgender troops and reject new recruits while legal challenges play out.
Reuters first reported last week a memo showing that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued instructions to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6.
There are 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates.
Trump signed an executive order in January, after returning to the presidency, that reversed a policy implemented under his predecessor Joe Biden that had allowed transgender troops to serve openly.
A Gallup poll published in February found that 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals serving in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019.
A former Fox News host, Hegseth has embraced conservative stances on culture war issues, including eliminating diversity initiatives at the Pentagon. Hegseth had made clear his opposition to gender-affirming care for transgender troops in a post on social media last month.
Re-posting an article that said the Pentagon would resume treatments for transgender troops, Hegseth said: “If this is true – we will find any way possible to stop it.”
“Taxpayers should NEVER pay for this lunacy,” Hegseth added.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie Adler, Howard Goller and Will Dunham)
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