Donald Trump. (Photo via White House/X)
President Donald Trump on Jan. 27 signed a series of executive orders focused on the military, including a directive gutting the Pentagon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs along with another banning transgender service members from the U.S. armed forces.
White House officials said new military standards for mental and physical readiness will exclude transgender troops, which would mean the EO goes further than the ban Trump implemented during his first term in 2017.
Among the first actions the president took after his inauguration on Jan. 20 was rescinding the order that former President Joe Biden signed immediately after he took office in 2021 that allowed trans and gender diverse service members to serve openly.
“The implementation [of the ban] is on the DoD regarding specifics,” a White House official told CNN.
A February 2018 memo by the U.S. Department of Defense contained carveouts to exempt trans service members already in uniform who had joined the military prior to the policy excluding them, along with those who do not require a change in gender or those who have been “stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession.”
DEI practices, meanwhile, will be subject to review by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed by the U.S. Senate Jan. 24.
Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign on Monday announced plans to sue the Trump-Vance administration “to block implementation of yet another discriminatory and dangerous attempt to bar patriotic transgender military service members from serving openly in the U.S. armed services,” Lambda Legal said in a press release.
“We have been here before and seven years ago were able to successfully block the earlier administration’s effort to prevent patriotic, talented Americans from serving their country,” said Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal counsel and director of the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project. “Not only is such a move cruel, it compromises the safety and security of our country and is particularly dangerous and wrong. As we promised then, so do we now: we will sue.”
“Thousands of current service members are transgender, and many have been serving openly, courageously, and successfully in the U.S. military for more than eight years — not to mention the previous decades when many were forced to serve in silence,” Buchert added. “Once again, as during the first term, the Trump administration is attacking a vulnerable population based on bias, political opportunism, and demonstrably untrue ‘alternative facts,’ denying brave men and women the opportunity to serve our country without any legitimate justification whatsoever.”
Sarah Warbelow, vice president of legal at HRC, said “Our military servicemembers, including thousands of transgender troops, wear the same uniform, take the same oath, and meet the same rigorous standards,” adding, “They are heroes who put their lives on the line to protect our country—and we owe them all a debt of gratitude.”
“Instead, this discriminatory ban insults their service and puts our national security at risk. Expelling highly trained members of our military undermines military readiness and wastes years of financial and training investments,” Warbelow said.
“It also needlessly upends the lives of families who have already sacrificed so much,” she said. “The Commander-in-Chief should prioritize our military’s safety and readiness, not use his position to issue bans on entire groups of people. This order is unconstitutional, and we will see this administration in court.”
SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit of transgender people who currently serve or have served in the military, released a statement on Jan. 27:
“Transgender Americans have served openly and honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a decade. Thousands of transgender troops are currently serving, and are fully qualified for the positions in which they serve.
“Transgender service members currently fill critical roles in combat arms, aviation, nuclear engineering, law enforcement, and military intelligence, many requiring years of specialized training and expertise. Transgender troops have deployed to combat zones, served in high-stakes missions, and demonstrated their ability to strengthen unit cohesion and morale.
“While some transgender troops do have surgery, the recovery time and cost is minimal, and is scheduled so as not to impact deployments or mission readiness (all of which is similar to a non-emergent minor knee surgery). The readiness and physical capabilities of transgender service members is not different from that of other service members.
“SPARTA Pride is standing by to support all transgender service members impacted by this policy.”
“Donald Trump’s executive orders are not only cruel, discriminatory, and wrapped in disinformation, but they will make all of us less safe. Throughout our military’s history, thousands of transgender people have served with honor, integrity, and bravery,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. “Attempting to ban them is an insult to their humanity and the contributions that they have made.”
“Additionally, Trump’s decision to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives will lead to further harassment in our ranks, making underrepresented service members a greater target for discrimination,” she said. “Already we are hearing reports of anti-harassment policies being taken down based on the order to end equity and inclusion initiatives, which is appalling, misguided, and a gross insult to those who serve.”
Goss Graves added, “Everyone, regardless of race, gender or sex, should be able to work with dignity— including in the military — without fear of discrimination and harassment. We will continue to fight against these harmful abuses of power.”
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