Donald Trump, upon his return to the White House after being re-elected as the President of the United States, has decided to proactively carry out his agenda of pushing “gender radicalism” out of the military. The 47th American President has signed five new executive orders, aiming to reshape the military.
On Monday, January 27, President Donald Trump signed an order directing the Department of Defense to ban transgender service in the military potentially. He has asked the DOD to update its manual on “trans-identifying medical standards for military service and to rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.”
The new guidance will consider identifying as a gender different from the one assigned at birth as a hindrance to the well-being of physical and mental health that is required for the service.
However, this new order will affect transgender people beyond the surgical and hormonal procedures involved. With this, the Department of Defense will ban the use of pronouns and prohibit males (by birth) from using facilities designed for women, such as bathrooms, dorms, etc., in the military.
The order stated, “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”
Apart from the transgender service ban, Donald Trump also signed a new DEI order instructing the Pentagon to ban the use of “discriminatory race or sex-based preferences.” According to the fact sheet, the President is committed to a “merit-based” policy.
He is focused on creating a “sex-neutral system and color-blind recruitment, retention, and promotion.” He claimed that the military recruitment numbers have been dwindling due to something he calls a “woke assault.”
BREAKING: Trump says his government will be eliminating any and all forms of DEI and only recognize 2 genders pic.twitter.com/pxKnY5e0e2
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 20, 2025
Donald Trump signed another order, removing the previous policy, which was declared in August 2021, that required all military personnel to have COVID-19 vaccinations. According to the White House, Trump has not directed the Secretary of Defense to “reinstate military members who were previously dismissed for refusing vaccinations.” He has also asked the administration to provide them full back pay and benefits.
In addition, the President is now on the move to create the “Iron Dome for America.” According to ABC News, in a new order, Donald Trump directed the implementation of a “next generation missile defense shield for US.” However, the fact sheet didn’t reveal many details about the system.
🚨BREAKING: President Trump is bringing back over 8,000 military members who were dismissed for not getting the Covid vaccine, granting them full back pay.
Promises made. Promises kept.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 27, 2025
According to a 2016 survey by DOD, there were an estimated 8980 active duty and 5,727 reserve soldiers who identified as transgenders. The report included 1.850 transgender men and 7,129 transgender women who joined the military as their genders assigned at birth.
As per a 2021 report by Military.com, since January 2016, the Pentagon has spent over $15 million on medical expenses for transgenders, including $3.1 million for gender reassignment surgeries.
In 2018, during his first term in office, Donald Trump pursued the ban on transgender service in the military. After Joe Biden took over his role, the ban was ended by 2021 after an executive order. During his recent election campaign, Trump vowed to re-introduce the ban.
The executive order is yet to dismiss any transgender from service. However, the Pentagon has been given 60 days to revise its policy. They are required to introduce the updated guidance within the 30 days following the revision.
