Transgender students will be barred from enrolling in the Naval Academy at the start of the 2020 school year as the Defense Department starts enforcing Pentagon’s transgender military policy.
Students who are enrolled for fall 2019 are still under the Obama administration’s policy, which allowed transgender people to serve and also covered costs incurred for hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery.
President Donald Trump promised in 2017 to re-enforce a ban on transgender service members from the military that was lifted by his predecessor, President Barrack Obama, in 2016.
On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration and lifted the preliminary injunctions on two other cases, making it another win for President Trump.
The department said the policy does not discriminate based on gender identity but enforces the military standards on all persons, whether or not they are transgender.
“Persons with a history of gender dysphoria—a serious medical condition—and who have undergone certain medical treatment for gender dysphoria, such as cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery, or are unwilling or unable to meet the standards associated with their biological sex, could adversely impact unit readiness and combat effectiveness. For this reason, such persons are presumptively disqualified for service without a waiver,” the department stated.
In a memo signed by Trump in 2017, he cited military focus and medical costs for reversing Obama’s policy.
“In my judgment, the previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Departments’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources,” he said.