Military review panels quietly keep transgender service members despite Trump-era directives

New reporting reveals that military review boards, staffed by ordinary service members, are consistently voting to keep transgender individuals in the armed forces, despite explicit orders from Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to purge them. The panels have approved nine out of twelve recent cases, and the proceedings remain classified, with even spouses excluded. The Pentagon declined to provide total numbers of hearings or dismissals.

The Navy and Marine Corps appear to follow this trend, whereas the Air Force persists in rapid discharges of trans personnel. The report also notes that the Trump administration had claimed trans troops were a costly burden, a view contradicted by internal military assessments. These secret decisions represent a quiet rebuke of former policies within parts of the military hierarchy.