The official denied the notion that Trump's directive was equal to
discrimination against transgender individuals, insisting that Trump
would not be going back on his 2016 campaign promise to fight for LGBT
Americans.
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| Donald Trump. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) President Donald Trump has directed the military to abandon the Obama-era plan which allowed transgender individuals to be recruited into the armed forces.
The directive is in-line with his intentions to ban transgender people from serving, as he earlier announced in July.
The
presidential memorandum which was signed on Friday, August 25, also
bans the Department of Defense from providing medical treatment regimens
using its resources for transgender individuals currently serving in
the military.
Trump also directed that the departments of Defense and Homeland Security "to
determine how to address transgender individuals currently serving,
based on military effectiveness, lethality, unitary cohesion, budgetary
constraints, applicable law, and all factors that may be relevant," the White House official said.
While
briefing reporters on the memo on Friday evening, The White House
official, however, declined to say whether the current transgender
troops would be allowed to remain in the military under the new policy
guidelines.
The official indicated that
the administration will be returning to the military's pre-2016 policy
which had no place for transgender individuals in the armed forces, but
stated that Trump was giving the secretaries of defence and homeland
security the chance to determine the policy for transgender troops who
are currently serving.
The official
denied the notion that Trump's directive was equal to discrimination
against transgender individuals, insisting that Trump would not be going
back on his 2016 campaign promise to fight for LGBT Americans.
"The
President is the President for all Americans, and during last year's
campaign he was the first GOP nominee to talk about LGBTQ issues at the
GOP convention, but he also was critical of the Obama administration's
change in that longstanding DOD policy," the official said.
"He's
going to continue to ensure that the rights of the LGBTQ community, as
well as all Americans, is protected," the official added. "This policy
is based on a series of national security considerations."
The
guidance comes a month after Trump said on Twitter that he would
reinstate a ban on transgender troops, an announcement that took many in
the military's leadership -- including the joint chiefs of staff -- by
surprise.
"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," Trump said in a series of tweets.
"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and
cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that
transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," he added.
The
White House failed to reveal a timeline for the ban, which has left
transgender service members wondering about their future in the
military.
The ban reversed the policy initially approved by the Defense Department under President Barack Obama regime.Although still under final review, the policy would have allowed transgender individuals to serve openly in the military. Back in June, Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he was working a decision on whether to allow transgender individuals be recruited by the military. |