If Trump removes all currently serving Trans recruits, the impact on military readiness could be disastrous.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), reports emerged over the weekend beginning November 22 that Donald Trump has begun planning for an Executive Order that would reinstate and expand upon his first administration’s ban on transgender military service members.
Trump’s transition team denied in Newsweek that any decisions on the issue had been made and a spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, told Newsweek the unnamed sources “are speculating and have no idea what they are actually talking about.”
“No decisions on this issue have been made,” said Leavitt. “No policy should ever be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump or his authorized spokespeople.”
While Leavitt is adamant no concrete policy has been put forward, other media sources, including The Daily Beast, have stated that Trump plans to dismiss all currently serving Transgender recruits regardless of rank (an estimated 15,000 individuals) and ban any future enlistees. Speculation surrounding the potential executive action is stoking devastating uncertainty for transgender people across the country.
As the United States military continues to fall short of its recruitment targets, the discriminatory ban, as reported, could terminate the employment of an estimated 15,000 people, deeming them “unfit to serve”– despite the fact that they meet every qualification. The United States military is the largest employer of transgender people in the country. Recent studies show that transgender people are twice as likely as the general population to serve in the military.
“Banning thousands of qualified transgender service members – who meet every qualification to serve and have been serving without incident positively contributing to the nation’s defense for nearly a decade – would make our country less safe and is nothing more than transphobia masquerading as policy,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson.
“The United States military, tasked with defending our country and protecting all Americans, should be built on readiness and qualifications, not bias, hate and discrimination. Transgender service members are patriots who have proven their commitment, skill and dedication to protecting this country.
“Donald Trump is making clear that his administration will go all in on hatred and division at the expense of our military’s readiness, our standing as a leader on the world stage, and the dignity of those who have made the courageous decision to serve their country,” Robinson continued. “Our military must be able to recruit the best candidates, retain the highly trained service members who have already sacrificed so much for their country, and every qualified patriot should be able to serve openly, free of discrimination.
“Transgender people exist and belong in every part of our society. We stand with these service members and will take swift action to push back against this dangerous and discriminatory ban. Any person who meets the qualifications should be able to serve.”
As reported in The Times of London, this proposed ban would be disastrous for military readiness and the country’s safety.“These people will be forced out at a time when the military can’t recruit enough people,” a source familiar with Trump’s plans said. “Only the Marine Corps is hitting its numbers for recruitment and some people who will be affected are in very senior positions.”
“Should a trans ban be implemented from day one of the Trump administration it would undermine the readiness of the military and create an even greater recruitment and retention crisis, not to mention signalling vulnerability to America’s adversaries,” said Rachel Branaman, executive director of Modern Military Association of America, which campaigns on behalf of LGBTQ+ military personnel and veterans.
Trans people already serving in the military say that as well as causing them significant personal hardship, a new ban would be disastrous for the armed forces.
“There are very few members of my career field with this experience, and in the event of a large-scale contingency, it would be difficult to replace the level of experience that I bring to the table,” said a serving US Air Force non-commissioned officer, who preferred not to give their name.
