Trump admin eliminates health care programs for LGBTQ+ veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered health facilities nationwide to eliminate gender identity-based initiatives and strip the LGBTQ+ designation from a network of medical coordinators created to help LGBTQ+ veterans navigate care, according to an internal memorandum obtained by The Advocate.

The June 12 directive, signed by Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health John J. Bartrum, the VA official who oversees the nation's largest integrated health care system, is the latest move by the Trump administration to remove references to LGBTQ+ and transgender identities from federal programs. It also raises new questions about the future of a specialized support network the VA created to address documented disparities affecting LGBTQ+ people who served their country and earned medical care at the agency.

Related: Inside the Veterans Affairs Department’s underground resistance to Trump’s care ban for transgender vets

Medical professionals at U.S.-based VA hospitals who reviewed the memorandum told The Advocate that staff members immediately began expressing concern. “People are worried this will mean loss of programming and services that are uniquely designed for LGBTQ+ veterans,” one provider at a VA medical center told The Advocate under the condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Employees are questioning whether programs such as PRIDE in All Who Served and CBT-PRISM could survive under the new guidance, the provider said.

PRIDE in All Who Served is a VA-developed, 10-week health education and support program for LGBTQ+ veterans that the department has recognized as a best practice. The VA has reported that participants experienced reductions in depression, anxiety, suicide risk, and identity-related stigma, along with increased social connectedness and engagement with care. CBT-PRISM is an affirmative mental health intervention that adapts cognitive behavioral therapy to address the effects of stigma, discrimination, and minority stress on LGBTQ+ veterans. Researchers have been working to expand the program throughout the Veterans Health Administration. Both programs were developed in response to disparities that the VA itself has repeatedly acknowledged affect LGBTQ+ veterans.

The June 12 memorandum directs Veterans Health Administration facilities to comply with President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and federal recognition of transgender people. Among the changes outlined in the directive, LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators are to be redesignated simply as Care Coordinators.

Related: Transgender vets deserve access to gender-affirming care, Veterans Affairs providers say (exclusive)

"VHA must eliminate all DEI/DEIA programs, gender-identity based and gender-ideology based initiatives, and any activities, internal or external, that promote gender identity or gender ideology," the memorandum states.

The memo instructs facilities to review websites, communications, policies, training materials, SharePoint sites, meetings, events, and other resources for compliance. It further states that federal funds, facilities, staff time, training, promotional materials, and other government resources may not be used for activities that promote what the administration characterizes as "gender ideology" or "gender identity."

The memorandum states that all veterans will continue to be served and that programs explicitly authorized by Congress remain unaffected.

Yet as of Friday evening, the VA's own LGBTQ+ Health Program website continued to promote the very infrastructure that the directive targeted.

"There is an LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator (LGBTQ+ VCC) at every facility to help you get the care you need," the website states. It describes coordinators as resources who help create "a safe and respectful environment," educate staff, spread knowledge about LGBTQ+ veteran services, and build networks of allies and community partners.

For a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs has maintained a nationwide network of LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators. The program was formally established in 2016 after the VA concluded that LGBTQ+ veterans often faced unique barriers to care, including stigma, discrimination, and elevated risks for certain health conditions.

Under VHA Directive 1340, issued in 2022 and still publicly available on the VA website on Friday evening, the department described the coordinators as playing "a critical role" in ensuring culturally competent, veteran-centered care. Every VA medical facility was required to appoint at least one coordinator, with dedicated administrative time based on facility size.

Related: Trump administration announces end to gender-affirming care for transgender veterans

The directive assigned coordinators responsibilities that extended far beyond patient navigation. They were tasked with advocating for LGBTQ+ veterans, identifying gaps in care, educating staff, building relationships with community organizations, conducting outreach, promoting affirming environments, and monitoring the needs of LGBTQ+ veterans in their regions. The policy specifically encouraged participation in Pride events, maintaining LGBTQ+ resource websites, creating outreach materials, and supporting LGBTQ+-focused programming.

The VA website also describes the mission of the LGBTQ+ Health Program as providing "national leadership through policy, education, advocacy, and innovative data-driven programs to promote LGBTQ+ Veteran health and well-being." Its vision, the department states, is to "build a VA that LGBTQ+ Veterans trust to provide affirming care and services to help them thrive."

In 2022, the VA wrote that LGBTQ+ veterans "expect to experience discrimination in VA medical facilities, which may impair their engagement in care" and that "additional efforts" were necessary to ensure equitable health care.

Friday's directive is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions reshaping VA policy for LGBTQ+ veterans. In March 2025, The Advocate reported that the VA had quietly rescinded VHA Directive 1341, a policy governing care for transgender and intersex veterans. After The Advocate reported the rescission, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz denied that any policy change had occurred and demanded a retraction. Days later, the department publicly confirmed the policy's removal.

Subsequent reporting by The Advocate documented restrictions on gender-affirming surgery referrals, reports that VA clinicians were quietly helping transgender veterans navigate new barriers to care, and concerns over LGBTQ+ visibility inside VA facilities, including reports that rainbow lanyards and other Pride-related items had been barred at a Virginia VA hospital.

The latest directive appears to extend that effort beyond transgender health care and into the broader infrastructure the VA created to support LGBTQ+ veterans.

Related: Veterans Affairs doctors banned from writing surgery referrals to private providers for trans vets

What remains unclear is whether the administration intends to preserve the functions of LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators while removing the LGBTQ+ designation, or whether the redesignation is the first step toward dismantling the program itself.

The Advocate reached out Friday evening to Kasperowicz, who now serves as the VA assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, to confirm the details of the memorandum and explain how LGBTQ+ veterans will continue to receive specialized support under the new policy. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The memorandum gives Veterans Integrated Service Networks, medical center directors, and program offices 14 days to certify compliance.

Watch the Veterans Health Administration-produced video below, which previously celebrated LGBTQ+ veterans and their service.

- YouTube www.youtube.com