Trump to remove all transgender soldiers from US military, issue outright ban on Jan 20: Report

US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order, on the first day of his return to the White House on January 20, that would remove transgender members from the American military.

Not just kicking out, the executive order, which Trump is expected to sign, would also lead to a ban of transgender individuals from joining the military.

Unfit to serve

A report by The Sunday Times quoted defence sources as saying that about 15,000 active service personnel who are transgender would be medically discharged, which would mean that they were unfit to serve.

Trump has rallied against “woke” practices in the US military, saying that a few of the high ranking officers are often interested in diversity, equity and inclusion, rather than planning to fight.

During his first term in office, Trump had declared that the US would no longer “accept or allow” trans people in the “tremendous medical costs and disruption,”.

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In 2019, he imposed a ban, preventing transgender people from joining the armed forces, but allowing those already serving to keep their jobs.

The order was rescinded by President Joe Biden, but with Trump returning to White House, he is expected to immediately cancel Biden’s order and go further by removing currently-serving trans troops, the report quoted sources familiar with the US president-elect’s plans as saying.

Removal at time when military can’t recruit

As per a source cited by The Sunday Times, the transgender people will be “forced out at a time when the military can’t recruit enough people.”

“Only the Marine Corps is hitting its numbers for recruitment and some people who will be affected are in very senior positions,” the source further said.

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The report comes days after he nominated The Fox News host and a former major in the US National Guard Pete Hegseth as his defence secretary.

Hegseth has publicly railed against “weak” and “effeminate” leadership in the US military and in a recent book, he argued that “the next commander in chief will need to clean house”.

He also claimed that the medical care for transgender personnel is an “extravagance” the Pentagon cannot afford and focusing on the issues that affect only a small number of people in the military is an example of “trans lunacy”.

‘20 years & billions of dollars to replace’

Reacting to Trump’s possible move, Rachel Branaman, executive director of Modern Military Association of America, which campaigns on behalf of LGBTQ+ military personnel and veterans, said, “Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, especially given that the military’s recruiting targets fell short by 41,000 recruits last year, adds administrative burdens to war fighting units, harms unit cohesion, and aggravates critical skill gaps.”

“There would be a significant financial cost, as well as a loss of experience and leadership that will take possibly 20 years and billions of dollars to replace," the report quoted Branaman as saying.

‘Ban on transgender people would cause upheaval across forces’

The Sunday Times quoted a transgender analyst in the US navy, Paulo Batista, as saying that the expected ban would put a premature end to his career and also cause upheaval across the forces.

“I have four years left on my contract. But you take 15,000 of us out — there’s more but that’s the number that is always mentioned — that’s 15,000 leadership positions, every one of us play a vital role," Batista said.

“There are junior enlisted personnel to high-end officers. You pull one of us out, that means others have to cover. These jobs could take months or even years to fill," Batista further said.