US President Donald J Trump has signed a memo prohibiting transgenders from serving in the United States military.
According to a White House official, the memo gives the Secretary of Defense as well as the Secretary of Homeland Security formal authority to return to the long-standing policy and practice on military service on transgender individuals that was in place prior to June of 2016, CBS reports.
The official said that the White House “coordinated with the DOD and General Counsel’s office” and were “very familiar with the directives and the final text” of the memo.
While the White House official refused to specify whether or not there might be any scenario in which a transgender service member currently in the military could remain in the service, the White House says the Pentagon will decide a best “implementation plan” to address the situation by a deadline of March 23, 2018.
The official said the new guidance is also expected to put a stop to recruitment of transgender individuals and prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for sexual reassignment surgery.
Only one year ago, in June 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender individuals could serve openly for the first time. Prior to that, most transgender people in the military had been forced to keep their status secret to avoid being discharged. Since Carter’s policy change, some troops – possibly a couple hundred – have openly declared their status as transgender individuals.
Carter also had given the military services until July 1 of this year to present plans for allowing transgender individuals to join the military. Shortly before that date, Mattis extended the study period to the end of this year. And shortly after that, Mr. Trump went to Twitter to announce a total ban, without having used the customary interagency policy process.
At the time of Mr. Trump’s tweet, the Pentagon was not prepared to change its policy. A flurry of White House meetings ensued, with participation by representatives of the Defense Department, to translate Mr. Trump’s announcement into guidance that could be implemented and would stand up to expected legal challenges.