US President-elect Donald Trump is planning to ban transgender people from serving in the US military, The Times reported on Monday, citing defense sources. According to the report, the plan would entail removing trans personnel already serving and prohibiting such people from enlisting in the future.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order to such effect shortly after his inauguration on January 20. The move would reportedly affect about 15,000 active service members who are openly transgender. Those targeted would be discharged on medical grounds, deemed unfit to serve on the basis of their gender identification. It is unclear, however, whether they will have to undergo any examination to determine their trans status.
The new legislation is seen as a harsher version of the ban Trump passed during his first term in office. In 2018, he banned openly transgender people from joining the military, but allowed those already serving to keep their jobs. At the time, Trump claimed he had consulted with military experts and concluded that trans people should not serve in the army in “any capacity.” He stressed that allowing trans people into the ranks of the army comes with “tremendous medical costs,” as they allegedly require expensive hormone treatment.
Trump’s ban was rescinded under outgoing President Joe Biden in 2021.
Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected to support the new ban. The former Fox News host and US National Guard veteran recently published a book ‘The War on Warriors,’ in which he slammed the US military for embracing woke ideology and becoming “effeminate” by promoting diversity and inclusion. He also urged the next commander-in-chief to “clean house,” and argued that medical care for transgender service members is too costly for the Pentagon.
Several sources argued that the potential ban would come at a bad time for the US military, which is struggling to recruit enough personnel.
“Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, especially given that the military’s recruiting targets fell short by 41,000 recruits last year, adds administrative burdens to war fighting units, harms unit cohesion, and aggravates critical skill gaps,” Rachel Branaman, head of Modern Military Association of America, told the news outlet. She added that the loss of experience the ban would entail could take around 20 years and billions of dollars to replace.
Paulo Batista, an analyst in the US Navy who is openly transgender, also argued against the ban, warning that it would cause disruptions across the entire US army.
“You take 15,000 of us out – that’s 15,000 leadership positions, every one of us play a vital role… You pull one of us out, that means others have to cover. These jobs could take months or even years to fill,” he told the news outlet.
Trump’s spokesman declined to comment on the report.
