First Legal Challenge Against Trump's Transgender Troop Ban to Be Filed
Donald Trump's new executive order that calls for the Pentagon to revise its policy on transgender service members.The order, signed Monday, asserts that the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle," claiming it could undermine military readiness.The move could potentially lead to a ban on transgender service members' participation in the U.S.
military.The legal team behind the lawsuit is the same one that previously fought against Trump's 2017 ban on transgender troops, a policy that was tied up in the courts for years before being overturned by former President Joe Biden upon his inauguration.Newsweek contacted the Pentagon by email on Tuesday requesting further comment.Trump's order essentially lays the groundwork for a future ban, directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to determine how it would be implemented in policy.Until a few years ago, transgender service members could be discharged from the military.That changed in 2016 when the Obama administration allowed transgender individuals already serving to undergo gender transition if diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the distress caused by a disconnect between one's gender identity and biological sex.The military reported that more than 900 service members received this diagnosis, allowing them to continue serving after transitioning.Under the Trump administration's new policy, however, this number would be effectively capped.Once the policy takes effect, transgender troops currently serving who have not previously been diagnosed with gender dysphoria will be required to serve according to their biological sex.Unlike Trump's original 2017 ban, which applied only to new recruits, the new executive order would also affect current transgender troops, effectively targeting those already serving in the military, according to advocacy groups.A 2016 survey estimated that approximately 1 percent of active-duty service.
