US Army to begin expulsion of transgender troops starting in June

The U.S. Department of Defense received instructions to initiate the discharge of transgender military personnel who do not submit a voluntary resignation by June 6. The instruction, contained in a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, comes in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that allowed the ban pushed by President Donald Trump to go into effect.

According to the document reported by Reuters, active-duty transgender service members have until June 6 to request a "voluntary separation." For reserve forces, the deadline is extended to July 7. Once those dates expire, mandatory removal proceedings will be activated.

An immediate step following judicial endorsement

The directive confirms the Trump administration's intention to immediately implement the ban, which is now backed by the Supreme Court. The move reverses a policy adopted during the Joe Biden administration, which allowed transgender people to serve openly in the military.

In January, as soon as he returned to office, Trump signed an executive order rescinding that regulation. Biden had defended his approach by asserting that "America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride."

The Trump administration has argued that "U.S. government policy is to establish high standards of readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity of service members." In that framework, they argue that this policy is incompatible with the " medical, surgical and mental health limitations" associated with gender dysphoria or related backgrounds.