Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has started kicking trans troops out of the military, DOJ says

The Pentagon has begun moving to remove transgender service members from the military, the Justice Department acknowledged in a new court filing, identifying two plaintiffs now facing separation proceedings under President Donald Trump’s ban.

In a letter filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Talbott v. United States, government attorneys said the Air Force has initiated involuntary separation processes against Cadet Hunter Marquez and First Lieutenant Sean Kersch-Hamer, both plaintiffs in the case.

According to the filing, both have been served formal notices and have requested hearings before administrative separation boards.

The disclosure follows earlier statements by DOJ attorneys during oral argument suggesting that no transgender service members had been discharged under the policy. In January, plaintiffs challenged that characterization, accusing the government of misleading the court. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes suggested to Justice Department lawyers in March that they inform the circuit court about the government’s actions against trans troops, and clarify any confusion.

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The Justice Department’s filing confirms that separation processes are now underway.

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights, which represents the plaintiffs alongside GLAD Law, said the government’s filing aligns with what plaintiffs have reported.

“Contrary to the government’s representation at oral argument — which NCLR and GLAD Law corrected — the government is taking active steps to enforce the ban, including initiating separation proceedings,” Minter told The Advocate. “The harm being caused by this policy is immediate and real.”

Until recently, some transgender service members could choose what the military described as “voluntary separation,” allowing them to leave service without undergoing formal discharge proceedings. Plaintiffs say that the option avoided “dehumanizing” administrative boards that determine separation.

Erica Vandal, an Army major and plaintiff in the case who left the service in January, told The Advocate that those proceedings require service members to appear in uniform and grooming standards aligned with their sex assigned at birth, not their gender identity. The government has admitted that this is its policy.

The case, brought on behalf of about 30 transgender service members and prospective enlistees, challenges Trump’s 2025 executive order barring transgender people from military service.

Kersch-Hamer, an Air Force officer since 2022 stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, is a Combat Systems Officer and Weapons Systems Officer who completed one of the service’s most selective training pipelines. She was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2022, began hormone therapy, and obtained a waiver to enter high-performance aircraft training, serving openly as a woman beginning in 2023.

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After the policy was implemented, her waiver was revoked. She was directed to follow male grooming standards and use male facilities or face administrative leave. She was later placed on leave, removed from the training pipeline, and her security clearance was affected, according to court filings.

Marquez’s declaration describes similar disruptions during his final months at the U.S. Air Force Academy. A cadet who had transitioned and met male standards, he was ordered to use facilities aligned with his birth sex and barred from men’s spaces.

He said he was placed on an accelerated academic schedule, causing him to miss training exercises, briefings, and squadron activities. He was also informed he would not be allowed to commission and that his Combat Systems Officer assignment had been withdrawn.

“These changes have occurred despite my successful academic and military performance,” Marquez said.

The D.C. Circuit is currently considering whether the policy should remain in effect while the case proceeds. The appeal stems from a preliminary injunction issued by Reyes, who blocked the ban after finding it likely unconstitutional and “soaked with animus and dripping with pretext.”