Transgender troops: A tweet is not an order

Washington — Unmoved by President Donald Trump’s proclamation-by-Twitter, top Pentagon leaders declared on Thursday they’ll allow transgender troops to remain in uniform until Defense 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 reflect a concern that confusion over Trump’s tweets might distract troops, who are engaged in dangerous operations around the world, including shooting 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,” even though no specifics had been worked out.