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In a Friday letter, Senate Democrats demanded more information on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new testosterone screening program, which they wrote he introduced “despite longstanding medical guidance recommending against routine population-wide screening.”
Last week, Hegseth announced that the military will offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to male service members over the age of 30 who test low for the hormone. Hegseth said the program is meant to keep military men on the “leading edge of lethality.”
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“The Department has provided no evidence that this sweeping new policy will improve force readiness or health, nor has it explained the scientific basis, costs, or risks associated with implementing it across the force,” wrote Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ruben Gallego (AZ).
They explained that TRT is appropriate for certain populations with specific disorders, but emphasized that it “carries known risks and requires careful diagnosis and long-term medical monitoring.”
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They also called out the sexist nature of the policy: “Coupled with the Department’s recent repeated efforts to redefine military culture around an exaggerated conception of masculinity, this initiative risks undermining years of work to ensure that women servicemembers are evaluated and valued based solely on their ability to perform the mission.”
The military still does not have the resources to provide proper care for women going through perimenopause and menopause, the senators explained, adding that “Congress has had to press the DoD merely to study persistent gaps in their care.” Meanwhile, it “rushes to institute automatic testosterone testing for men.”
“This stark disparity suggests that the Department’s priorities are being shaped less by an equitable assessment of force health than by the Secretary’s preferred cultural narrative,” they said.
The Senators concluded the letter with 11 questions and requested responses by August 5.
The questions ask, among other things, what data and medical guidance were used to create the program; what evidence suggests testosterone screening and treatment improves readiness and performance; whether a cost analysis for the program took place; if servicemembers receiving TRT will have access to follow-up care to ensure they are not suffering behavioral or health consequences; and if servicemembers who decline TRT will face adverse consequences.
Many Democrats have expressed their disapproval of the program since Hegseth’s July 15th announcement, in which he called the DoD the “High-T Department of War.”
During a House Judiciary Committee meeting last Wednesday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) slammed “The Secretary of Forever Wars, Pete Hegseth” for instituting a hormone therapy program for military members while taking away that kind of access from trans kids.
“This, by the way, is gender-affirming care,” Jayapal said, “and by the way, male members of this committee, watch what you vote for. Do you really want the government getting into your business, taking your testosterone levels, and determining whether or not you have enough testosterone? Are you male enough to be in Congress? That is the question.”
On July 16, Out lesbian U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said Hegseth’s TRT plan “is gender-affirming care,” but it also shows how people in this administration have “weird, intense, homoerotic feelings towards men while also being incredibly homophobic – and not just homophobic – but like hate-mongering, fear-mongering about the LGBTQ community.”
“So, let me be clear,” she continued. “I don’t think the homoeroticism is the weird part. The weird part is that they pretend that that’s not what it’s about.”
“And so, Pete Hegseth is like the example of this, like the manly, manly, rugged, macho man, and it’s like, I don’t know if you know who Tom of Finland is. This is a gay male p**n that was drawn by a man. And, like, Pete Hegseth is the embodiment of that. So I feel like they must be looking at that as their example for what men look like.”
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