Trump Bans Transgender People In USA Military

US President Donald Trump has said he will not allow transgender individuals to serve in the United States military in any capacity, seemingly unwinding landmark Pentagon policy just 12 months after a transgender ban was lifted. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.

The Pentagon released a statement saying that all questions on Mr Trump’s transgender ban should be referred to the White House. The announcement, in a series of unexpected Twitter posts, drew swift condemnation from rights groups and politicians on both sides as “raw prejudice” with purely political motives, but it was praised by conservative activists and some Republicans.

Up until five years ago, the US military still banned gay troops from openly discussing their sexuality under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. But in June 2016, after years of progress to open up the doors to women and the gay community, the Pentagon announced transgender personnel would no longer be barred from serving openly in the US military, in what was considered a major milestone, despite criticisms.

Under last year’s policy, the Pentagon said it would cover medical expenses related to being transgender, including gender reassignment Donald Trump holds up an ‘LGBTs for Trump’ rainbow flag during his campaign for presidency. surgeries when they are deemed “medically necessary”. There are currently as many as 250 service members in the process of transitioning to their preferred genders or who have been approved to formally change gender within the Pentagon’s personnel system.

But Mr Trump’s latest tweets said the US military could no longer afford to be “burdened” by the medical costs and disruption of transgender individuals. Mr Trump’s tweets offered no details on how the ban — reversing Democratic former President Barack Obama’s policy — would be implemented.

As a presidential candidate, Mr Trump vowed to fight for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people.

The President’s new communications adviser Anthony Scaramucci tweeted in February that Mr Trump “is the most pro-LGBTQ rights POTUS in history” and questioned why the mainstream media were not writing about it. The US military has about 1.3 million service members. According to data, about 2500 of these active-duty service members are transgender, as well as about 1500 out of approximately 825,000 reserve troops.

It is unclear what will happen to transgender individuals serving in the US military who have openly come out since the ban was lifted last year.