US President Donald Trump on Friday directed the Pentagon to extend indefinitely a ban on transgender individuals joining the military, but he appeared to leave open the possibility of allowing some already in uniform to remain.
Trump gave US Secretary of Defense James Mattis authority to decide the matter of openly transgender individuals already serving, and he said that until the Pentagon chief makes that decision, “no action may be taken against” them.
The administration of then-US president Barack Obama in June last year had changed long-standing policy, declaring that troops could serve openly as transgender individuals. It set a deadline last month for determining whether transgender people could be allowed to enter the military.
Mattis delayed that to Jan. 1 next year, and Trump has now instructed Mattis to extend it indefinitely.
However, on the question of what will happen to those transgender individuals who already are serving openly — estimated to number in the low hundreds — Trump seemed to leave wiggle room for exceptions.
A White House official who briefed reporters on the presidential order would not say whether Trump would permit any exceptions.
That official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Mattis has been directed to take a number of factors into consideration in determining how to deal with transgender individuals already serving.
Those factors are to include broad measures such as “military effectiveness,” budgetary constraints and “unit cohesion,” as well as other factors Mattis deems “relevant,” the official said.
It was not clear whether that means it is possible for Mattis to come to the conclusion that some transgender troops should be allowed to remain.
Trump gave Mattis six months to come up with a policy on those currently serving, and he must implement it by March 23 next year, the official said.
The White House official said Trump also directed Mattis to halt the use of federal funds to pay for sexual reassignment surgeries and medications, except in cases where it is deemed necessary to protect the health of an individual who has already begun the transition.
That policy is to be written within six months and implemented by March 23 next year.
In his directive to Mattis, Trump said he found that his predecessor’s transgender policy was flawed.
“In my judgement, the previous administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude” that ending the long-standing ban on transgender service would not “hinder military effectiveness and lethality” and be disrupting in the ranks, he wrote.
The Pentagon on Friday had little to say on the subject.
Dana White, the main spokeswoman for Mattis, issued a statement saying that Mattis had received White House guidance on transgender policy, adding: “More information will be forthcoming.”
At the time of 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 US Department of Defense, to translate Trump’s announcement into guidance that could be implemented and would stand up to expected legal challenges.
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