Setbacks

Trump will reinstate military ban on transgender people

To create yet more distractions in hopes of diverting attention from what’s going on behind the scenes, Donald Trump announced via tweet-storm Wednesday that he’ll go ahead and reinstate the ban on transgender people serving in the armed forced “in any capacity.”

As CNN reports, Trump’s decision effectively reverses a policy approved by the Defense Department during Obama’ presidency, which was under final review.

Related: Can someone identify the white substance that fell out of the president’s nose?

Last month, Defense Secretary James Mattis said he was delaying enactment of the plan, writing in a memo:

“Since becoming the Secretary of Defense, I have emphasized that the Department of Defense must measure each policy decision against one critical standard: will the decision affect the readiness and lethality of the force? Put another way, how will the decision affect the ability of America’s military to defend the nation? It is against this standard that I provide the following guidance on the way forward in accessing transgender individuals into the military Services.”

Here’s Trump’s full announcement, via Twitter, regarding the ban:

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender [sic] in the military would entail.”

Last year, a Rand Corp study concluded allowing transgender people to serve openly would only have “minimal impact” on health are costs or readiness, largely because there are so few in the 1.3 million force.

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