Pete Hegseth faces questions over unpaid transgender troops

Seven House Democrats are demanding answers about delayed separation pay for transgender service members forced out under the Trump administration’s military ban.

The lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Equality Caucus, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking an explanation after reports that some troops have waited months for the separation pay they were promised.

“Since the beginning of this Administration, you and President Trump have targeted transgender servicemembers—not only kicking them out of the military but also subjecting them to constant indignities along the way,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter led by Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Related: Pete Hegseth’s crusade drove a transgender veteran from military service and into homelessness

The six other signers include Equality Caucus Co-Chair Sarah McBride, the first transgender member of Congress; the top Democrats on the House Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees, Adam Smith and Mark Takano; caucus Transgender Equality Task Force Co-Chair Sara Jacobs; and caucus Co-Chairs Eric Sorensen and Everton Blair.

The letter cited reporting by The Washington Post about troops still awaiting payment months after leaving the military. Among them was Chloe Shapiro, who slept in her Honda Accord while waiting for more than $66,000 of the separation pay she was owed. Shapiro had served for more than a decade.

The Post also reported on a former National Guardsman with 3-year-old twins who was waiting for $130,000, and an Air Force major who expected $340,000.

Related: Decorated transgender troops endure closed-door hearings with foregone conclusions in Pentagon purge

The lawmakers asked the Defense Department to compare how long it takes troops discharged under the ban to receive full separation pay with the time it takes other departing service members. They also requested anonymized payment records and related department guidance, and asked Hegseth to respond by October 14.

“Let us be clear: we strongly oppose the underlying transgender military ban,” the letter states. “The House of Representatives recently rejected, on a bipartisan vote, an attempt to codify this ban into law, and we hope the Courts will permanently block this ban from being carried out against any transgender person who would and could be serving but for this ban. In the meantime, transgender servicemembers should receive the separation pay they are owed in a timely fashion — and we urge you to ensure this is handled expeditiously.”