US President-elect Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order that would result in the dismissal of all transgender service members from the country’s armed forces, The Times reported , citing sources.
There are about 15,000 transgender people in the active military, and they are planned to be discharged for medical reasons as unfit for service. According to the source, the new order will be stricter than the previous one, which was adopted in March 2018 during Trump’s first term Joe Biden reversed this decision in January 2021. At that time, the Republican banned transgender people from joining the army, but allowed those already serving to continue their activities in the army. The new order assumes the dismissal of even those who managed to build a career in the armed forces.
“These people will be forced out of their positions at a time when the Army is short of fighters. Only the Marine Corps is meeting its recruiting quotas, and some of those affected by this decision hold very high positions,” the source noted.
According to BBC, Mr Trump announced on Twitter in 2017 that the country would no longer “accept or allow” transgender Americans to serve in the military, citing “tremendous medical costs and disruption”.
The ban took effect in April 2019. Trans personnel who were already serving were allowed to continue, but new recruits were locked out.
On November 13, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s team was working on an executive order to create a military council to “purge the generals.” As the publication wrote, if Trump approves the order, he could speed up the dismissal of generals and admirals who lack leadership skills. In addition, this document could have a “sobering effect on senior military leaders,” since Trump had previously promised to fire “progressive” military leaders who promote diversity in the military at the expense of combat effectiveness.
