For now, transgender rules remain
Pentagon leaders sent memos stating nothing will change without official directive
WASHINGTON— Unmoved by U.S. President Donald Trump’s proclamation-by-Twitter, top Pentagon leaders declared on Thursday they’ll allow transgender troops to remain in uniform until Defence Secretary Jim Mattis receives an authoritative directive to remove them.
For now, “there will be no modifications” to current policy, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an internal memo to all military service chiefs, commanders and enlisted leaders.
That was despite Trump’s announcement Wednesday on Twitter that he will not “accept or allow” transgender people to serve in the U.S. military.
By late Thursday, the Pentagon still had nothing more to go on than the tweets, a highly irregular circumstance that put Mattis and others in the chain of command in a position of awkward unease, if not paralysis. A commander in chief normally works out policy changes of this magnitude in advance in order to preserve order and morale.
Trump’s tweets drew quick, sometimes scathing criticism from many lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, as well as many military troops and retirees. But social conservatives applauded. Protesters demonstrated in several cities, as well as outside the White House.
Dunford began his memo to the nation’s military leaders: “I know there are questions about yesterday’s announcement.” He said nothing would change until the president’s direction had been received and developed by Mattis into written “implementation guidance.”
“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,” Dunford wrote. “As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.”
That last statement appeared to re- flect a concern that confusion over Trump’s tweets might distract troops, who are engaged in dangerous operations around the world, including wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said guidance on how to “fully implement this policy” is still to be worked out. Asked whether Trump realized he could not change the transgender service policy via Twitter, Sanders said, “I think he was making the announcement of the policy change,” though no specifics had been worked out.
Mattis has been on vacation this week and has been publicly silent. Sanders has said Trump informed Mattis of his decision after he made it on Tuesday. It was Trump’s judgment, she said, that transgender individuals are an unacceptable cost and distraction for the military and should not be allowed.
Dunford was not aware that Trump was going to announce the ban, a U.S. official said. The official was not au- thorized to discuss the matter and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Top Air Force officer Gen. David Goldfein sent a note internally to his force on Thursday citing Dunford’s memo and saying he and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson “emphasize that all airmen will be treated with dignity and respect as we work through the potential policy changes” coming from the White House.
Together, the Dunford and Goldfein notes illustrate that military leaders did not equate Trump’s tweets with legal orders.
Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, made similar points during a speech at the National Press Club.
“I have yet to receive implementation guidance” from Mattis, Milley said. “We’ll act when we receive directives through the proper chainof-command channels.” Until then, nothing changes, he added, citing the Dunford memo.
Trump’s announcement caught the Pentagon flat-footed in a way rarely seen in the recent history of civil- military relations. The Pentagon has not released data on the number of transgender people currently serving, but a Rand Corp. study has estimated between 1,320 and 6,630, out of 1.3 million active-duty troops.
“Please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump tweeted, even as hundreds, if not thousands were already serving. The implication of the pronouncement was that those now in uniform would be forced to leave.
Trump wrote that he had consulted with “my generals and military experts,” but the White House has not identified them and none have come forward.
The American Civil Liberties Union said its chances of getting a court to block Trump’s proposed ban might depend on the details of the plan.
SAN FRANCISCO— Twitter Inc. failed to attract more monthly viewers in the second quarter, spooking investors looking for evidence that the company is on a sustainable long-term growth path. The shares tumbled the most in nine months, even as quarterly revenue topped analysts’ projections.
A long-term turnaround depends on Twitter expanding its audience. That number stands at 328 million monthly active users — the same as in the prior quarter, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement Thursday. Revenue fell 4.7 per cent and the company’s net loss also widened, affected by a $55-million (U.S.) writedown of the value of its investment in SoundCloud, the German music streaming service.
Twitter is still working to prove that it can build a sustainable, growing business. After hitting a plateau with its user base and struggling with a slowdown in sales, the company started narrowing its focus, shuttering businesses and teams that didn’t fit its goal of being a destination for live-event content.
“It’s a niche platform. It always was and always will be.” BRIAN WIESER ANALYST AT PIVOTAL RESEARCH SAID ABOUT TWITTER
With a goal of reaching profitability, Twitter began investing heavily in video, aiming to draw a more mainstream set of users and premium advertising deals.
The network now has a promising set of partnerships in its pipeline, but some investors are skeptical that Twitter will ever be much bigger than it is today.
“It’s a niche platform,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research. “It always was and always will be.” Though its monthly audience failed to grow, Twitter said there’s room for optimism because 12 per cent more users are visiting the site on a daily basis than in the same quarter last year.
The company declined to disclose a daily active user number or provide further details.
But Twitter also said that it doesn’t expect its overall sales growth to improve in the second half, citing “headwinds” related to products it’s de-emphasizing.
The company reported a net loss of $116.5 million, or 16 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $573.9 million, though that beat analysts’ average estimate of $537.2 million as the company drew more money from video advertising and its business selling data to third parties.
In the third quarter, Twitter said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $130 million to $150 million. The average analyst estimate was $144.1 million.
The shares fell as much as 14 per cent to $16.84.
It was the biggest intraday drop since October. They were up 6.3 per cent in the 12 months through Wednesday.
Twitter’s business troubles contrast with its increased profile in the political world, as U.S. President Donald Trump frequently uses the platform to reach the public in an unfiltered manner. Despite his daily fusillade of tweets, Trump hasn’t helped Twitter’s growth in its home country.
Monthly active users in the U.S., Twitter’s most important advertising market, declined to 68 million from 70 million in the prior quarter. U.S. advertising revenue also fell 7 per cent to $335 million as it struggles to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., which account for most of the growth in digital advertising.
Chief financial officer Anthony Noto said Twitter doesn’t know why U.S. monthly active users slipped.
“We don’t have data that will explain a causal impact” of that shift, he said on a conference call.