The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has ordered its healthcare facilities across the country to discontinue initiatives based on gender identity and eliminate the LGBTQ+ designation from a network of medical coordinators. This network was created specifically to help LGBTQ+ veterans access health services, as revealed by an internal memo obtained by The Advocate.
The directive, dated June 12 and signed by John J. Bartrum, Deputy Secretary for Health at the Veterans Administration (VA) and overseer of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system, represents the latest move by the Trump administration to suppress references to LGBTQ+ and transgender identities in federal programs. The move also raises serious questions about the future of a specialized support network established by the VA to confront proven disparities affecting LGBTQ+ people who have served the country and seek medical care at the agency.
Healthcare professionals at several VA hospitals across the United States who had access to the memo told The Advocate of immediate concern among employees. A professional at a VA medical center, who declined to be identified to speak openly, said, “There is widespread fear that this will result in the loss of programs and services specifically designed to serve LGBTQ+ veterans.”
In light of the new guidelines, health system employees question the viability of programs such as “PRIDE in All Who Served” and “CBT-PRISM”, as reported by the provider.
The “PRIDE in All Who Served” program is a ten-week health education and support initiative developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) itself and focused on LGBTQ+ veterans. Recognized by the department as an exemplary practice, the VA indicated that participants in this program showed significant improvements, such as reduced rates of depression, anxiety, suicide risk and identity-related stigma, as well as greater social connection and engagement with health care. “CBT-PRISM” (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Self-Assessment of Concerns) is an affirmative mental health intervention that adapts cognitive behavioral therapy to address the impacts of stigma, discrimination, and minority stress on LGBTQ+ veterans. Researchers were committed to expanding this program throughout the Veterans Health Administration. Both programs were designed in response to disparities that the VA itself had repeatedly recognized as problematic for LGBTQ+ veterans.
The June 12 memo directs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities to align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as well as federal recognition of transgender people. One of the main changes established in the guideline is the redesignation of LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators to simply Care Coordinators.
The internal document states that “VHA must suppress all DEI/DEIA programs, initiatives based on gender identity and gender ideology, as well as any activities, whether internal or external, that promote gender identity or gender ideology.”
Additionally, the memorandum directs institutions to fully review their websites, communications, policies, training materials, SharePoint sites, meetings, events and other resources to ensure full compliance with the new mandate. The text also clarifies that federal resources, facilities, staff time, training, promotional materials and other government assets cannot be used in activities that promote what the government classifies as “gender ideology” or “gender identity”.
Expert expresses harsh criticism of new VA guidelines
Michael Kauth, who previously served as executive director of the Veterans Health Administration’s LGBTQ+ Health Program, sharply criticized the directive in a LinkedIn post on Saturday.
Kauth detailed that the LGBTQ+ Veterans Care Coordinators were established more than ten years ago with the goal of integrating LGBTQ+ veterans into the healthcare system, identifying gaps in services offered, training clinical staff, organizing health awareness events, and acting as a bridge between LGBTQ+ community organizations and veterans groups.
“LGBTQ+ veterans experience high rates of exposure to violence, discrimination, food insecurity, and homelessness,” Kauth wrote. He added that “as a group, LGBTQ+ veterans report higher rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, suicidal ideation and behaviors, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and cardiopulmonary disease compared to heterosexual and cisgender veterans.”
Questioning the logic behind eliminating these positions, Kauth asked, “How will the Under Secretary’s actions resolve these disparities? By removing essential interventions to engage LGBTQ+ veterans in the care they deserve and have earned through their service to the country?”
Kauth argued that recognizing differences in veterans’ health needs is crucial to providing truly effective care. “What honor is there in ignoring health inequalities and failing to recognize that certain groups are more vulnerable and more exposed to risks than others?”, wrote the former director.
The memorandum, in turn, ensures that all veterans will continue to be assisted and that programs that have explicit authorization from Congress will remain unchanged.
Understand the history of the LGBTQ+ veterans coordinator program
Contrary to the new guidance, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) LGBTQ+ Health Program’s own website was still promoting, as of Friday night, the same infrastructure that the directive aimed to dismantle.
The VA’s official website states that “at each facility, there is an LGBTQ+ Veterans Care Coordinator (LGBTQ+ VCC) to help you get the care you need.” The coordinators’ description highlights their role in fostering “a safe and respectful environment,” empowering staff, disseminating information about services available to LGBTQ+ veterans, and establishing networks of allies and community partners.
For a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has maintained a national network of coordinators for LGBTQ+ veterans. The program was formally implemented in 2016 after the VA recognized that LGBTQ+ veterans often faced unique obstacles to accessing healthcare, including bias, discrimination, and increased propensity for certain health conditions.
Under VHA Directive 1340, issued in 2022 and still publicly accessible on the VA website as of Friday night, the department classified coordinators as “fundamental” elements in ensuring culturally sensitive and veteran-centered care. It was mandatory for all VA medical units to appoint at least one coordinator, with specific administrative time allocated depending on the size of the unit.
The previous directive gave coordinators responsibilities that went far beyond direct patient monitoring. They were charged with advocating for LGBTQ+ veterans, identifying gaps in services, educating staff, building relationships with community organizations, conducting outreach, promoting welcoming environments, and monitoring the needs of LGBTQ+ veterans in their respective regions. The policy expressly encouraged participation in Pride events, maintaining websites with LGBTQ+ resources, creating informational materials, and supporting programs aimed at the LGBTQ+ community.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) portal also describes the LGBTQ+ Health Program’s mission as providing “national leadership through innovative data-driven policy, education, advocacy, and programs to promote the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ veterans.” The department’s vision, according to its own website, is “to build a VA that LGBTQ+ veterans trust to provide care and services that welcome them and help them thrive.”
In 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published that LGBTQ+ veterans “anticipate experiencing discrimination at VA medical facilities, which may harm their access to health care,” emphasizing the need for “additional efforts” to ensure equitable health care.
Other Trump administration measures impacting LGBTQ+ veterans
The directive issued on Friday joins a series of actions by the Trump administration that have changed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policies aimed at LGBTQ+ veterans. In March 2025, The Advocate reported that the VA had quietly repealed Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive 1341, a policy that regulated care for transgender and intersex veterans. After The Advocate’s story was published, then-VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz denied any change in policy and demanded a retraction. Days later, the department publicly confirmed the revocation of the directive.
Subsequent news from The Advocate detailed restrictions placed on referrals for gender-affirming surgeries, reports of VA doctors discreetly helping transgender veterans bypass new barriers to accessing medical care, and growing concerns about LGBTQ+ visibility within VA facilities. This includes information that rainbow-colored lanyards and other Pride items have been banned at a VA hospital in Virginia.
The latest directive appears to expand this restriction effort, going beyond health care for transgender people to encompass the broader support infrastructure that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had created for LGBTQ+ veterans.
It remains unclear whether the administration intends to maintain the roles of LGBTQ+ Veterans Care Coordinators while eliminating the LGBTQ+ designation, or whether this redesignation is just an initial step toward completely dismantling the program.
The Advocate reached out Friday evening to Kasperowicz, now Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to confirm the details of the memo and get clarification on how LGBTQ+ veterans will continue to receive specialized support under the new policy. He has not commented so far.
The memorandum gives Integrated Veterans Services Networks, medical center directors, and program offices 14 days to demonstrate compliance with the new guidance.
