By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
Lawmakers and activists are blasting President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban transgender soldiers from enlisting or serving in the military, claiming the legislation will harm marginalized communities.
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.-9) said that the Jan. 27 order is an attack on diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Attacking fully capable, patriotic individuals who volunteer to fight for and defend the United States will weaken our national security and defense,” Smith said in a statement. “If we don’t do our best to reach out to all communities across the incredibly diverse spectrum of our country, we will miss out on the talent we need.”
Olivia Hunt, director of federal policy for Advocates for Trans Equality, an organization that fights for the legal and political rights of transgender people, also slammed Trump’s executive order.
“Trans people have always been a part of the military, serving honorably and meeting the same rigorous standards as their peers,” Hunt said in a statement. “For nearly a decade, trans service members have been able to serve in the military openly and authentically as themselves.”
She added, “This order betrays the trust of the thousands of trans people who have come out and transitioned while serving…it also jeopardizes their access to critical benefits such as healthcare, education, and retirement.”
The directive concerning transgender military service, titled, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” reinstates a policy from Trump’s first term while revoking an order issued by then-President Joe Biden. Biden’s directive had permitted transgender individuals to enlist and ensured that those already serving could access transition-related medical care.
“It is the policy of the United States Government to establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” the order asserts. “This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria. This policy is also inconsistent with shifting pronoun usage or use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex.”
The directive instructs the Department of Defense to revise its military medical standards within 60 days, swiftly “end invented and identification-based pronoun usage,” and enforce regulations preventing individuals assigned male at birth from accessing women’s sleeping, changing and bathing facilities.
While implementation will require time, transgender service members will not face immediate expulsion. However, the fate of those receiving transition-related care through Tricare, the military’s health care program, remains uncertain. In December, Biden approved a defense bill that prohibited gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members, meaning such care had already been restricted.
Rep. Smith is calling on Trump to reverse the ban on transgender soldiers.
“I call on the President to immediately withdraw these blatantly bigoted and partisan orders for the sake of military readiness and morale and the safety and security of our country,” Smith said in a statement.
“[The president] campaigned on a promise to strengthen our national security and defense. The actions he has taken since assuming office threaten to do the exact opposite,” the Democratic lawmaker added.
In addition to targeting transgender service members, a separate executive order takes aim at diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the military, prohibiting race- or sex-based preferences across the armed forces, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Under this directive, the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security must review the curricula of service academies and other military-affiliated institutions to ensure the removal of DEI programs and “gender ideologies.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.-7) criticized the Trump administration for dismantling policies that promote fairness and representation, calling the move a direct attack on the nation’s commitment to inclusion.
“The Trump Administration’s harmful executive orders rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are an affront to all of us,” the Massachusetts congresswoman said in a statement. “Diversity is our strength and everyone who calls this country home deserves to thrive.”
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