From PBS NewsHour.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged in a Senate hearing Wednesday that he’d provide the analysis that the Defense Department used to implement President Donald Trump’s trans military ban.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Trump’s ban on transgender service members to move forward, the Defense Department used the president’s executive order to set a June 6 deadline for troops to sign up for “voluntary separation” from the U.S. military. It is not clear what lies ahead for service members who choose to stay and fight the ban.

Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., told Hegseth that the Senate Appropriations Committee is still waiting to receive the information it requested on the assessment the department conducted before implementing its removal of trans people from the military and how this policy would affect national security. She said it was a “misguided decision” to remove trans troops.

“We agree with the assessment of the executive order that was issued by the White House that there are mental health issues associated with gender dysphoria — that it complicates military service and readiness, and as a result, we made the decision,” Hegseth said.

“I have asked for that analysis. Please provide it to me and the committee,” Baldwin said.
“We will provide it,” the defense secretary said.

The ban, which has been challenged in court, received two, separate nationwide injunctions that temporarily halted the military from moving forward with separations. The judges in those cases noted the lack of evidence to support the administration’s justification of the ban and questioned whether the Pentagon’s argument that trans people serving actually hurt military readiness. Later, a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the ban to move forward.

Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.

Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG

Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

Follow us:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews
X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour