On December 23, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a defense budget law that includes a provision prohibiting coverage for gender transition treatment for military children. Biden opposed this provision, stating it discriminates against individuals based on gender identity and interferes with parental rights in determining the best care for their children.
Biden argued that this measure undermines the ability of the U.S. Department of Defense to retain military personnel, as it denies medical insurance to thousands of military children. He emphasized that no service member should have to choose between access to healthcare for their family and their duty to serve the country.
The provision, included at the insistence of Republican Mike Johnson, bans coverage for gender dysphoria treatment that could lead to sterilization for individuals under 18. While this measure faced strong opposition from Democrats in the House of Representatives, it passed the Senate with a significant majority (85 to 14).
The new law, which outlines Pentagon spending for 2025, also includes a 14.5 percent pay increase for junior sergeants, measures to counter China's growing military power, notably creating a fund for military support to Taiwan, and increases planned annual military spending by the Department of Defense to $895 billion, a 1 percent rise from the current year.
Meanwhile, newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump announced on December 22 that he would end what he termed 'transgender madness' on his first day in office in January 2025. He stated that the official policy during his presidency would be that 'there are only two genders - male and female.' Trump also pledged to sign an executive order to 'end sexual mutilation of children' and prohibit transgender individuals from serving in the military and working in schools.