Updated 6:09 PM EDT, July 22, 2026Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new initiative to test and treat troops for low testosterone has prompted a federal judge to question the differences between that kind of testosterone replacement therapy and hormone treatment for transgender men in the military.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington raised the question Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops. Reyes noted that Trump’s ban says “the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards … without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”
Reyes ordered both parties in the lawsuit to address “the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals.” She was using the acronym for testosterone replacement therapy.
The judge also requested information on the Pentagon’s “basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban.”
Reyes’ order comes a week after Hegseth announced that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.”
The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary.
Other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader, and less substantiated, claims.
Testosterone levels in men decline naturally with age and have long been linked to issues like erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes and weight gain. But experts have debated for years how to diagnose those problems and whether they should be treated by replacing the hormone.
Reyes, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, is overseeing one of the lawsuits against Trump’s ban on transgender troops. Transgender active duty service members and former service members seeking to reenlist sued in late January 2025, shortly after the president returned for his second term in office.
Reyes ruled last year against Trump’s executive order to exclude transgender troops. A divided panel of federal appeals court judges sent the case back to Reyes after partially upholding her order, finding that the ban was unlawful and service members who sued could not be kicked out.
Reyes has since given the case class-action status, which means the outcome could expand to all service members.
Trump’s transgender military ban remains in effect, however. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Pentagon to enforce it as litigation plays out.
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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.
Scottie's Playtime 
I have this to say about testosterone replacement — it is a very dangerous drug that should only be used to treat certain circumstances. I was put on TRT, and within a week my partner no longer saw in me the person I had been when we met, give or take the natural changes that happen as they do.
I went from being a mild-mannered peaceful person to an almost explosive angry person with a very short fuss. When she asked me what had changed, and the only thing was the testosterone shots. I had become much more aggressive, and short-tempered.
I am certainly not THAT person. I halted the shots, and soon returned to my normal self.
The ICE team is already more aggressive than most other service members. Hegseth, and Trump, want more terror, not less. No normal person would want anything that to happen.
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Hi Rawgod. I agree with you. I have had to be on it for years now due to my bone issues and the fact that I regularly have to take steroids. But Ron has also noticed a shift in my tenseness and agitation at the peak times after I take my shot. For me it was not a large shift but he can tell. Add the testosterone to the steriods, and I really do have to work to stay even tempered so I don’t swing from lows and highs. Go from being hyperexcited and happy to weepingly sad and down. Boy, when I have my steriod shots and testosterone shots close together, the night sweats and struggling to sleep go way up, and it also increases my nightmares and how they affect me. Hugs
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My experience albeit by observation fits with Rawdog’s 1), and 2) fifty years of weight lifting I’ve seen a lot of guys ~ “body-builders” mostly, the one’s who look in the mirrors a lot ~ use supplements, testosterone and such and 3) none of it was real. Not competition powerlifting or core strength, it was all for show … which leads us to 4) as time passed and their propensity to slack off exerts it all goes to fat
There’s also very real questions about what it does to your heart’s longevity. There hasn’t been enough time to fully study it but it looks it’s not good for it
Not gonna’ bang the drum too hard, but as with everything an all or near all natural diet is the best, and exercise as we’ve discussed in the past. They’re taking shortcuts …
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Hi Ten Bears. I experience some of what Rawgod and you describe, but thankfully my mood swings are not that bad. Ron has noticed I get more excitable and tense at the peak time of my testosterone shot. I take one large shot every other week. I have had to switch to taking the shot on the weekend because when I was doing them during the week I might also get sets of steriod shots on or near the same day. That causes all the chemical effects to go way up. I have to take both steroids and testosterone. The steriod shots keep my muscles and joints functioning and hold the spaums down. They also cause problems with my bones, my diabetes, and my testicles. As I mentioned to Rawgod when I am on the peak of the shots together I get bad night sweats and I have to watch my mood swings. I can go from being hyper happy to weepingly sad quickly if I am not careful. As for using them to work out those shots are painful, the neeedles are large. I can’t imagine doing it if I did not have to. I don’t need or want big bulging muscles that make it difficult to even scratch my back or straighten my arms. I do like the ability to have normal mucle tone and range. Ron says that since my surgery on my lower back, my gait and my steadyness on my feet are much better / more normal. Hugs
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