Donald Trump has cleared the way for a new ban on military service by transgender Americans.
One of the orders he issued Monday, just hours after taking office as president, rescinds President Joe Biden’s order of January 25, 2021, that lifted the ban Trump had put in place in his first term. Trump did not yet issue a new ban, but the revocation of Biden’s order allows him to do so, and it’s widely expected that he will.
“The previous administration has embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government,” the introduction to Trump’s “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” order reads. “The injection of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Trump’s order rescinds nearly 80 of Biden’s executive orders.
However, there is no new ban — yet. Transgender troops can continue to serve openly and proudly, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, emphasized in a Zoom press conference held Tuesday with the American Civil Liberties Union. If and when a ban is issued, the groups are ready to take action, he said.
Biden’s 2021 order lifting the trans ban read in part, “It shall be the policy of the United States to ensure that all transgender individuals who wish to serve in the United States military and can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.” Biden said he had concluded as commander in chief that gender identity should be no barrier to service and that “there is substantial evidence that allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military does not have any meaningful negative impact on the Armed Forces.”
Trump had announced his first-term ban via Twitter in July 2017, claiming that allowing trans people to serve openly interfered with military readiness and that their health care was too costly for the government to support. Numerous studies have contradicted such claims.
After extensive litigation from opponents, the ban took effect in 2019. There was not a mass discharge of the thousands of trans people who were already serving, as most of them were considered “grandfathered” in, but new enlistments of trans people were blocked.
President Barack Obama and his Defense secretary, Ash Carter, lifted an earlier ban on open service by trans troops in 2016.
In anticipation of Trump reinstating the ban, two Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives last week reintroduced the Ensuring Military Readiness Not Discrimination Act, which, if it becomes law, would stop a new trans ban or other discriminatory policies such as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which prevented lesbian, gay, and bisexual troops from serving openly. It was introduced by Reps. Sara Jacobs of California and Eric Sorensen of Illinois.
“Kicking nearly 15,000 service members out of the military solely because of their identity would be catastrophic to our military readiness and recruitment,” Jacobs said in a press release. “If the incoming Trump Administration reinstates the transgender military ban and discharges all trans service members, it would take 20 years and cost $18 billion to replace the talent and expertise we’ve lost. That’s why I’m so proud to reintroduce the Ensuring Military Readiness Not Discrimination Act, which would ensure that Donald Trump can’t enact discriminatory policies in the military with the stroke of a pen or a tweet. We will keep working to ensure that anyone willing and able to serve our country can do so without facing discrimination, violence, or fewer benefits.”
“Anyone willing and able to sacrifice to defend our country should be able to do so without fear of discrimination — period,” added Sorensen, who is gay. “This bill ensures that no one is turned away for who they are, strengthening our military by allowing every qualified American to serve with dignity. As the first openly LGBTQ+ member elected from Illinois, I’m proud to stand with all our Illinois service members who make our military the strongest and best in the world.”
The legislation has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, SPARTA, and the Modern Military Association of America.
“The highly qualified and trained members of our nation’s military, who sacrifice so much for the country, deserve dignity, honor, and respect,” David Stacy, HRC’s vice president for government affairs, said in the release. “But too often, LGBTQ+ service members face discrimination that drives away good talent and undermines our national security. Every American is made safer when our military is able to recruit and retain the best people for the job. This important legislation is a key step forward to ensure that those who step up to serve are treated with the dignity and respect they are owed.”