The US Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday it will phase out treatment for gender dysmorphia, acting on President Donald Trump’s campaign against trans people.
The government department assigned to helping current and former American soldiers said any money saved with this change will go towards helping paralyzed veterans and amputees regain their independence.
As part of his blitz of executive orders touching on just about every aspect of life in America since taking office, Trump has decreed the government will only recognize two sexes and ordered that trans people be barred from the military.
Veterans Affairs said in a statement Monday that starting now it will no longer offer cross-sex hormone therapy, except to people who are already receiving it from the VA.
“I mean no disrespect to anyone, but VA should not be focused on helping Veterans attempt to change their sex,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
He said trans-identified veterans will always get the benefits they are entitled to under the law. “But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime,” Collins said.
The VA said its doctors have never carried out sex change surgery but for more than a decade provided treatment for gender dysmorphia, the condition resulting from a disconnect between a person’s gender identity and their assigned birth gender.
The VA said it has not kept reliable records on the number of veterans who received such treatment or the amount of money spent on it.
But it estimates that less than one tenth of one percent of the 9.1 million veterans enrolled in VA health care are trans-identified.
Trump repeatedly took aim at trans people during the 2024 election campaign and signed an executive order in January stating they were unfit for military service, while the Pentagon has said it will remove transgender troops from the armed forces and prevent others from joining.
The ban has been challenged in court, but unless a judge issues an injunction soon, thousands of transgender military personnel may be just weeks away from the start of proceedings to force them to cut short their careers.
