| Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness | |
 | |
 Front page of Executive Order 14183 | |
| Type | Executive order |
|---|---|
| Number | 14183 |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Signed | January 27, 2025 |
| Federal Register details | |
| Federal Register document number | 2025-02178  |
| Publication date | January 27, 2025 |
| Summary | |
| The executive order directs the Department of Defense to revise policies to exclude individuals who identify with a gender different from their biological sex from military service, citing concerns over unit cohesion, mental and physical readiness, and overall military effectiveness. | |
Executive Order 14183, titled "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness", is anexecutive order issued by PresidentDonald Trump on January 27, 2025, banning transgender people from military service.[1][2] In March 2025, a federal judge blocked the Executive Order;[3] but in May of that year theSupreme Court allowed the Trump administration to reinstate the ban while legal challenges continue in theNinth Circuit.[4] It is part of a broadertargeting of transgender people.
On February 10, 2025, Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth filed a memo with theU.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. stating that, effective immediately, no "individuals with a history of gender dysphoria" would be permitted to join the military, and no "medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating agender transition" would be provided to service members.[7] A May 15 memo later detailed how trans service members would be discharged, saying that they would be given the discharge code of “JDK”, which is typically used to indicate that a soldier is considered a threat to national security, and which can prevent them from getting future jobs or security clearances.[8]
In August 2025, theUnited States Air Force announced that long-serving transgender members normally eligible for retirement benefits would be denied them.[9]
The order was challenged in a court filing,Talbott v. Trump, by six active duty transgender service members, and two prospective members, who sought a preliminary injunction. One of the active duty soldiers alleged that while on approved leave to receive medical care, he received a call saying that he would be considered AWOL if he did not return immediately. In a court hearing with US District JudgeAna C. Reyes, the plaintiffs were argued for byGLAD Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi; while theDepartment of Justice was represented by Jason Lynch.[10][11]
During the hearing, the plaintiffs argued that the order violated their rights under theFifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and had made them "unequal and dispensable, demeaning them in the eyes of their fellow service members and the public". The defense meanwhile agreed that the transgender service members impacted were "honorable, truthful, and disciplined" and had made the United States safer, but argued for the ban on the grounds that “A transgender individual identifying as a woman is not similarly situated to a biological female, nor is a transgender individual identifying as a man similarly situated to a biological male".[6][12]
Judge Reyes described the order as an attempt to label "an entire category of people dishonest, dishonorable, undisciplined, immodest, who lack integrity -- people who have taken an oath to defend this country, who have been under fire, people who have taken fire for this country", saying that it showed an "unadulterated animus" towards the transgender community, and that portions of it were "frankly ridiculous".[10][6] Shortly thereafter, the Department of Justice filed a rare judicial complaint against Reyes for "hostile and egregious misconduct".[13]
On March 18, 2025, Reyes blocked the executive order, ruling that banning trans people from the military likely violated their constitutional rights. Reyes stayed her order three days, to give time for an appeal.[3]
On March 17, 2025, another lawsuit challenging the executive order was filed in theUS District Court for New Jersey by two trans men removed from theAir Force.[14][15] On March 24, 2025, judgeChristine O'Hearn issued a two-week ban on enforcing the executive order.[16][17][18]
On May 6, 2025, theSupreme Court allowed theTrump administration to reinstate its ban on transgender military service members while legal challenges continue in theNinth Circuit.[4]
