On Monday evening, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order targeting transgender service members and a number of other people, UNN reports, citing The Washington Post and the corresponding executive order.
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The list of defined conditions could affect tens of thousands of people, depending on how it is interpreted, the WP notes. It lists diagnoses "that require significant medication or medical treatment for bipolar and related disorders, eating disorders, suicidality, and prior psychiatric hospitalization.
The executive order calls on the Pentagon to adopt updated policies on medical standards required for military service. It also targets transgender people on a personal level, accusing them of living in conflict "with a soldier's commitment to an honest, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in their personal lives.
"The man's claim that he is a woman and his demand that others respect this lie are inconsistent with the humility and dedication required of a soldier," the document adds.
The order builds on an earlier directive issued hours after Trump's inauguration on January 20, reversing a 2021 Biden administration measure allowing transgender military personnel to serve openly, which lifted an earlier ban imposed in Trump's first term. The new executive order does not immediately ban transgender people from serving, but it does order the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, to review medical standards and submit a report to the president outlining steps to comply with the directive.
Although the Department of Defense does not track the number of transgender personnel in the military, the latest change in long-term policy could affect thousands of service members. It is also one aspect of the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to roll back diversity initiatives across the government, WP points out.
Trump signed a new executive order on transgender people, along with others calling for the reinstatement of military personnel discharged under the Biden administration for refusing coronavirus vaccinations; the elimination of the offices of diversity, equality, and inclusion at the Department of Defense; and the creation of an "Iron Dome for America," Trump's vision for expanded missile defense.
Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hagel, a former National Guard soldier who said "transgender in the military causes complications and differences," promised in his first appearance before reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that he would ensure that Trump's priorities, which also include ordering the military to secure the southern border, are implemented.
Supporters of transgender people have said that there could be up to 15,000 people in the US military. A 2016 Department of Defense survey found that about 9 ,000 people identified as such. Both figures represent less than 1 percent of the 2 million people who serve.