Trump signs executive order reinstating transgender military ban; Hegseth issues implementing policy targeting gender dysphoria diagnoses

President Trump signed an executive order on January 27, 2025, declaring that military service by transgender persons conflicts with military values and directing the Secretary of Defense to implement a ban within 30 days. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, confirmed four days earlier in a 51-50 Senate vote, issued implementing policy that extended the ban to any person ever diagnosed with gender dysphoria — regardless of whether they currently experienced it or whether it had any effect on their service. The broader scope of the second-term ban became a central issue in subsequent litigation.