President-elect Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to fire transgender service members from the military, his team announced Monday, and will do so as soon as Trump returns to the White House. He denied reports that he intended to do so.
Speculation about a possible ban began swirling early Monday, when Britain’s Times newspaper cited U.S. defense sources as announcing President Trump’s implementation of a sweeping executive order to remove all active-duty trans personnel from their posts. That’s when I announced that I was planning to do so.
“These anonymous sources are making assumptions and have no idea what they are actually saying,” Trump’s press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, told the paper.
“Nothing has been decided on this issue.”
It added: “No policy should be considered official unless it emanates directly from President Trump or his authorized spokesperson.”
The Times reported that all transgender service members (estimated at 15,000) would be deemed unfit for military service and would be medically discharged.
The media source claimed that President Trump’s planned executive order would also ban transgender people from serving in the military in the future.
Sources said the bill could be signed as early as January 20, the day of President Trump’s inauguration.
If enacted, the policy would be broader than President Trump’s policy during his first administration, which essentially allowed transgender service members to keep their jobs but barred them from registering in the future.
The order went into effect in 2019 but was immediately rescinded when President Biden took office in 2021.
The Times report emerged after President Trump nominated retired military veteran and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense.
Hegseth, who served as an infantry officer in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, has advocated for the ouster of military leadership that enforces controversial diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
He is also the author of the best-selling book War with the Warriors, in which he blames a “woke army” for the draft crisis facing the country’s military.
In nominating Hegseth to the defense post, Trump touted the candidate’s book, adding that he is “tough, smart, and a true believer in America First.”
“This book exposes the leftist betrayal of our nation’s warriors and reveals how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence.” the president-elect, who has frequently criticized “woke generals,” wrote in Truth Social.
“With Pete in command, America’s enemies will be on guard – our military will be great again and America will never retreat.”
