Here’s How Many Trans People Serve in the U.S. Military

President Donald Trump's claim that the U.S. military "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs" of transgender service members contradicts the findings of a recent report the Pentagon itself commissioned.

Care for transgender people in the military would add $8.4 million to the total medical costs of all active duty service members, according to an analysis last year by RAND Corp. That's a little more than 0.1 percent of what the military spends on medical care for all service members. To put that in perspective, it's about 0.0014 percent of Trump's total defense budget proposal.