Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth following reports that transgender service members forced out of the military under President Donald Trump’s ban have not received separation pay they are owed.
Trump implemented a more limited ban during his first term, generally requiring transgender troops to serve according to their assigned sex at birth and barring medical transition. The policy exempted certain service members already serving openly or diagnosed with gender dysphoria before it took effect.
But after returning to office last year, Trump issued an executive order aimed at removing nearly all transgender personnel from the military, reinforcing a separate order refusing to recognize transgender identity as valid.
The Pentagon later declared that individuals diagnosed with, or exhibiting symptoms of, gender dysphoria “are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service” and would be discharged, with rare exceptions where there is a “compelling government interest” in retaining a service member.
But a recent Washington Postreport found that at least 12 transgender service members dismissed under the ban had not received their full separation pay — leaving many with mounting debt and at least one homeless.
Citing the report, Democratic lawmakers wrote to Hegseth, accusing the Trump administration of abandoning and discriminating against transgender veterans.
“This is unacceptable and appears to be another broken promise by this administration to those who have served,” the letter reads. “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…
“As we fight a war in Iran that has resulted in nearly 800 troops being injured, the Pentagon continues to waste valuable time and resources on scouring through service members’ confidential medical records in order to identify transgender service members for separation.”
The lawmakers cited federal law and Pentagon policies governing separation pay, including guidance for implementing the transgender military ban. That guidance stated that “service members eligible for voluntary separation pay will be paid at a rate that is twice the amount the service member would have been eligible for involuntary separation pay” and that those involuntarily discharged under the ban “may be provided full involuntary separation pay in accordance” with the law.
The lawmakers asked Hegseth to respond by October 14 with average and median payment wait times for eligible service members in each military branch, comparing those discharged under the ban with other departing personnel. They also requested anonymized records for each eligible service member discharged under the ban, detailing amounts owed and paid, payment dates, and when any outstanding balance is expected to be paid.
“Let us be clear: we strongly oppose the underlying transgender military ban,” the lawmakers wrote. “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.”
“Trump’s trans military ban was cruel to begin with, but delaying the promised separation payments for trans service members is salt in the wound,” U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and one of the letter’s signatories, said in a statement. “Our service members fought for us, and that’s why we are fighting to ensure they get the pay they were promised.”
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a 22-term congresswoman representing Northwest Ohio, has released two campaign ads opposing "gender ideology" ahead of the November election.
The first ad was posted to X on September 17 by Medium Buying, a Columbus-based political advertising firm, according to the Buckeye Flame, an Ohio LGBTQ news outlet.
In the ad, Kaptur seeks to counter attacks portraying her and other Democrats as too supportive of transgender rights while redirecting voters' attention to the economy and affordability.
"We're stuck in another unnecessary war and inflation is making everything more expensive, but my opponent won't talk about all that," Kaptur says, referring to her Republican challenger, former state Rep. Derek Merrin. "He'd rather lie about my record.
Dolly Parton, the beloved singer-songwriter, actress, and longtime LGBTQ ally, has died at age 80.
Parton's nephew, Brian Seaver, announced her death in a video posted to her Instagram account.
"My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next," Seaver said in the video.
"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it 'til now," Seaver continued.
For the second time this summer, Ariana Grande has rebuked President Donald Trump's administration for using her music in a social media post.
The latest dispute erupted after the Team Trump account added Grande's 2024 hit "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" to a TikTok post that repurposed one of its lyrics.
The post quotes the lyric "Me and my truth we sit in silence..." before adding: "...men can't have babies and should never compete in women's sports."
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