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Right-wing media are celebrating Trump’s ban on trans service members in the military

Conservative media are spreading harmful rhetoric that trans people are “mentally ill,” affecting military “readiness,” and “unprepared for the rigors of military service”

Special Programs LGBTQ

Written by Chloe Simon

Research contributions from Vesper Henry & Bushra Sultana

Published

On January 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing trans people from joining and serving openly in the U.S. military. Right-wing media responded by spreading harmful rhetoric that trans people are “mentally ill” and “unprepared for the rigors of military service.” 

Some also alleged that trans service members are negatively affecting military “readiness,” costing taxpayers money for “sex change operations,” and that they get in the way of the purpose of the military which is to “hurt people and break stuff.” 

In reality, evidence shows that a ban will likely lead to “operational gaps” for the military and that readiness has not been adversely affected by the participation of trans service members. Additionally, health care costs for trans military personnel make up only a tiny fraction of the Department of Defense’s health care budget. 

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  • Trump is reinstating restrictions on trans people serving in the military

    • On January 27, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to revise its policy on transgender troops, reinstating restrictions on their service. The order tasks military officials with developing a new policy that prioritizes “readiness and lethality,” eliminates the use of “invented” pronouns, and prohibits individuals assigned male at birth from using women's facilities. While not an immediate ban, the order aims to end coverage for transition-related medical services for enlisted personnel and their families and revise Department of Defense medical standards. [ABC News, 1/27/25; Reuters, 1/28/25; NBC News, 1/27/25] 
    • During his first administration,Trump introduced a similar ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. In 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. government would not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve “in any capacity” in the military. The policy was implemented in 2019, barring many transgender individuals from military service. Following Trump’s first term, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing trans people to enlist in the military and receive health care. [The Washington Post, 7/26/17; American Oversight, 1/25/21; NBC News, 1/27/25] 

  • There is no evidence that trans people threaten military readiness or are unable to handle military work

    • Banning trans people from the military poses significant negative consequences for the military itself. A study authored by three former military surgeons general found that Trump’s 2019 ban had the end result of “compromising recruitment, reputation, retention, unit cohesion, morale, medical care, and good order and discipline.” Modern Military Association of America’s Executive Director Rachel Branaman told Mother Jones that Trump’s new ban, which could expel “thousands” of troops, “represents ‘a lot of specialized training that essentially costs billions of dollars and creates an operational gap.’” Transgender army veteran Leila Ireland also asserted that a ban would “result in significant operational gaps, weakening the effectiveness of our armed forces and our national security.” [Palm Center, accessed 1/28/25; Mother Jones, 1/26/25; CNN, CNN News Central, 1/27/25] 
    • The Department of Defense’s spending on trans service members’ health care has been “minimal.” In 2021, the Defense Health Agency reported that the “military spent $15 million over five years on surgeries, hormones, and psychotherapy for transgender personnel, or about $3 million per year.” Those health care costs were “less than one-tenth of one percent” of the department’s annual health care budget for its active troops. [Palm Center, 7/2021; NPR, 1/28/25] 
    • Contrary to right-wing claims, existing evidence shows that the participation of transgender military personnel does not negatively affect military readiness. Economist Radha Iyengar, who co-authored a 2016 study from the think tank RAND on the effect of trans personnel on military readiness, stated that they “did not find any evidence of effect on unit cohesion or readiness impacts from allowing transgender personnel to serve openly” in the countries that allow it. Another think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies also noted that a “review of survey data and private health insurance claims found that less than 2 percent of transgender service members are prone to seek gender-confirming surgery each year,” equating to just 10 service members per year who “would be rendered unfit to serve for medical reasons.” [The Washington Post, 7/26/17; RAND, 6/30/16; Center for Strategic and International Studies, 7/27/17] 

  • Right-wing media claimed that trans people are forcing the U.S. military to pay for their surgeries, that they can’t be effective soldiers, and that they’re “mentally ill”

    • In a piece celebrating the military ban, The Federalist claimed that “patients who undergo transgender treatments never do fully recover” and “the hormone drugs are needed forever and by definition cause a chemical imbalance with a CVS receipt-length list of adverse side effects.” The piece also called it “self-evident that an individual who requires constant medical intervention — from drugs to surgeries to therapy — might be an undue burden on military readiness.” [The Federalist, 1/27/25] 
    • The Daily Wire claimed Trump’s ban “stems from a desire to prioritize military readiness and lethality — both of which are seriously impacted by military members who seek transgender surgical procedures.” The piece further alleged that trans service members require “consistent medical care, which is not conducive to deployment or other readiness requirements.” [The Daily Wire, 1/27/25] 
    • Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy claimed that if soldiers “have a transition surgery, the recovery time and the narcotics that you have to be on as part of the process, could affect your readiness for up to 12 months.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/28/25] 

  • From the January 28, 2025, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends 

    • Right-wing radio host Erick Erickson claimed “trans soldiers cannot really serve on the front lines because of all the meds.” [Twitter/X, 1/28/25] 
    • Right-wing social media personality Ian Miles Cheong claimed that trans people are “mentally ill and unprepared for the rigors of military service” and that they are “ridden with anxiety and freak out at being misgendered.” In a subsequent post, Cheong fearmongered that “the US military, the DOD and all related branches had better impose heightened security today because all of those mentally ill trans people might do something in response to the fact that they're all getting fired.” [Twitter/X, 1/27/25, 1/27/25]
    • Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk: “People battling severe mental illness have no place in the military. Get them help, and out of the armed forces.” [Twitter/X, 1/27/25]
    • On Fox News, former U.S. army soldier David Bellavia claimed, “This isn't a transgender ban. This is clearly stating that if you cannot deploy and fight, that we don't want you in the military.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/28/25]

  • From the January 28, 2025, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends 

    • MAGA troll Jack Posobiec said, “The point of the military is to hurt people and break stuff. That is not what is served by having transgender individuals there.” He continued, “This is not for social experiments. This is not for social engineering. We need social cohesion, we need troop morale. We don’t need that.” [Human Events, 1/27/25] 
    • Fox host Jesse Watters claimed that “trans soldiers" were getting “sex change operations and billing the military for them. And the military — meaning you and I — were paying for it.” Watters also said that “these surgeries are like $150,000, and it takes a while to recover.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 1/27/25]