VA redesignates LGBTQ+ care coordinators and limits further ‘gender-ideology’ services

The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving to further restrict services for LGBTQ+ retired servicemembers, with the dedicated care coordinators for these veterans set to be redesignated as part of a new directive aimed at limiting activities that the agency says conflict with White House mandates. 

In a June 12 memo titled “Reiterating Executive Order Compliance Responsibilities” — a copy of which was obtained by Nextgov/FCW — VA said it is prohibiting agency resource allocation that “diverts from merit-based, mission-focused operations.” 

The memo was signed by John Bartrum, under secretary for health for the Veterans Health Administration, the VA’s healthcare arm. VHA officials have 14 days to confirm in writing that all non-compliant activities have ceased. 

The Advocate first reported news of the directive on Saturday. 

This memo says these steps include restricting the use of “VHA funds, official time, facilities or resources” being used for “any activities promoting gender-ideology or gender-identity,” as well as requiring VA facilities to ensure “that local policies, SharePoint sites, communications, websites, and training materials” comply with the presidential directives. Another section says “uniform standards and attire policies” must also comply with the White House guidance. 

The most notable change, however, redesignates “LGBTQ+ care coordinators” as simply “care coordinators” who will be “dedicated to facilitating VA health and benefits for all Veterans, regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or sexual orientation,” the memo states.

VA’s website, as of June 18, says that there is an LGBTQ+ care coordinator “in every VA health care system.” These personnel act as care advocates for LGBTQ+ veterans, including by helping them to access programs and services to meet their needs. Roughly one million veterans are estimated to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender.

Memo expands on previous admin orders

Four current and former VA employees who have worked with LGBTQ+ veterans told Nextgov/FCW they were concerned that the administration’s moves jeopardize the well-being of a community that already experiences higher rates of discrimination and suicidal ideation. 

They also cited confusion about the latest memo and previous guidance, noting that there has often been a level of ambiguity when it comes to implementing the administration’s requirements facility-by-facility and how all of these moves will impact VA’s overall LGBTQ+ Health Program.

On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing male and female as the only two sexes and limiting federal funds from being used “to promote gender ideology,” as well as another order terminating federal government diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 

Trump’s gender-focused order previously led to the VA adjusting its policies to comply with the directive, with the department announcing in March 2025 that “it will phase out medical treatments” for transgender veterans. That edict included a carveout for veterans already receiving such care from VA and for those who were “receiving such care from the military as part of and upon their separation from military service and they are eligible for VA health care.”

One current VA employee, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said LGBTQ+ veterans were already experiencing adverse mental health outcomes from implementation of the administration’s prior orders.

“We've had some challenges with people needing to go to the hospital and being a little less mentally stable because of news and fears of what could happen next, and we've had to develop a lot more support services,” that person said.

VA’s moves, as well as ambiguity over how to effectively implement previous memos, have also frustrated LGBTQ+ care coordinators and even pushed some out the door. 

Renae DeLucia worked as an LGBTQ+ care coordinator at the VA Hampton health care system in Virginia before leaving her position last month. She said VA’s previous directives were “a big factor in my decision to quit because I do what I do to help LGBTQ+ veterans, and I felt like I wasn't being able to do the job that I was hired for with all the restrictions in place.”

DeLucia also cited a lack of clarity with previous guidance issued by the department, saying VA would release memos “about how to actually put these things into practice and what is allowed and what is not, and guidance would come out months later.”

“So it was so confusing, and basically it allowed leaders with personal biases to do whatever they wanted,” she added. 

Some of that confusion, others have said, also extends to the latest directive. 

The current employee noted that the memo gives facilities 30 days to update the job descriptions for the care coordinators at each facility. They said one rumor that previously floated around the workforce last year was that the agency would direct facilities to remove transgender from the acronym and rework the role into more of an LGBQ-focused coordinator. 

“I feel like maybe that's what they're trying to do here,” they added, pointing to the memo’s wording that the redesignated roles be for veterans “regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or sexual orientation.”

Several of the current and former VA employees also expressed concern about the future of several LGBTQ+ resources offered by the agency, including the PRIDE in All Who Served health education program. The 10-week closed group session helps to foster an open dialogue between LGBTQ+ veterans. 

As of June 18, VA’s LGBT-focused webpage says research shows “that LGBTQ+ Veterans expect to experience discrimination in VHA facilities which may prevent engagement in care;” and that “due to stigma, stress, and discrimination, LGBTQ+ Veterans as a group experience higher rates of several health conditions compared to non-LGBTQ+ Veterans, including higher risk for suicide.”

In an email to Nextgov/FCW, VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven said the memo is the best source for answering media questions. He also said redesignating LGBTQ+ care coordinators as care coordinators is “the plan, full stop,” and that the memo’s request for officials to confirm within 14 days that any non-compliant activities have ceased also “applies to anything you read on the website.”

Slaven did not address a question about whether the memo’s mention of uniform standards and attire policies was in reference to requiring transgender individuals to dress in clothing that correlates with their genders at birth. 

One lawmaker and federal union have already raised concerns about the new memo. 

In a statement to Nextgov/FCW, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. — ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee — said “the changes this VA is making will degrade care for LGBTQ+ veterans, who have specific health needs that VA has a clinical obligation to meet.” 

“Good medicine requires seeing the whole patient: their medical history, their risk factors, the full picture that determines the care they need,” Takano added. “Strip away what a clinician knows about a veteran's history and risks, and you're not treating them equally, you're treating them blind, and you’re putting veterans at risk. Every veteran should be able to walk into a VA, get the care they've earned through their service, and be treated with dignity and respect. Stripping away the tools clinicians use to deliver that care is a disservice to those who served, and I won't stand for it."

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents VA personnel and other federal employees, also said in a Wednesday press release that the directive is “designed to suppress the rights of veterans within the LGBTQ+ community and the federal employees tasked with ensuring their health and safety.”