Trump Announces Transgender Military Ban

On July 26, 2017, President Trump announced via twitter that the armed forces will no longer allow transgender individuals to serve because the government cannot keep up with “the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” spending “between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually” on hormone supplements and surgery, taking up about 0.13% of the military’s budget. (Washington Post)

Although the policy will not be active until February of 2018, when the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security will decide how deal with transgenders actively in the military, “no actions will be taken against such individuals under the policy set forth in section 1(b) of this memorandum.” (Washington Post)

Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense was surprised by the ban, becoming aware of it the day Trump announced it on twitter. Mattis put the ban on hold, saying, “once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction.”  (Washington Post)

Many Americans are up in arms about Trump’s statements due to him campaigning himself  as an ally to the LGBT community during last year’s election, only to ban members of the group from the military.  A couple of gay rights activists groups have filed for a lawsuit to stop the ban from coming into place, claiming it is a press on civil rights.  Peaceful Protest have broken out at the White House and major cities around the United States. (CNN)

While many people are unsupportive of Trump’s new policy, there are those who believe that it will benefit America.  Energy Secretary Rick Perry completely agrees with Trump saying, “The idea that the American people need to be paying for these types of operations to change your sex is not very wise from a standpoint of economic.” (The Hill)