The Department of Defense will resume providing gender-affirming care for transgender service members, according to a leaked memo obtained by Politico.
It’s “an embarrassing setback to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to restrict their participation,” the outlet reports.
The Defense Department is complying with a court order that found the restrictions on trans service members unconstitutional. Federal judges have blocked the ban in two separate lawsuits, and one appeals court has denied the department’s request to lift the block while legal challenges proceed. Donald Trump’s administration has now appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Service members and all other covered beneficiaries 19 years of age or older may receive appropriate care for their diagnosis of [gender dysphoria], including mental health care and counseling and newly initiated or ongoing cross-sex hormone therapy,” Dr. Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs, said in the memo obtained by Politico. It was dated Monday. This returns the department to its trans-inclusive policy implemented during Joe Biden’s presidency.