17 February 2026
Chicago 12, Melborne City, USA

Consider This from NPR : NPR

A portrait of retired Col. Bree Fram sits among other memorabilia at her home in northern Virginia. Fram, a former Space Force officer and Air Force veteran, was once the highest-ranking transgender member of the U.S. military.

Daniel Woolfolk/AFP via Getty Images


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Daniel Woolfolk/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump banned transgender people from the military during his first term.

But at the time, service members could continue with their service if they had received an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

Citing military excellence and readiness, the second Trump administration is now forcibly removing nearly all remaining openly transgender troops – identifying them by their previous diagnoses of gender dysphoria.

In their parting messages, they and their allies say it’s only hurting, not helping military readiness.

NPR’s Lauren Hodges reports.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org

Email us at [email protected].This episode was produced by Lauren Hodges and Mia Venkat, with audio engineering by Neisha Heinis. It was edited by Andrew Sussman and Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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