Trump Orders Military to Reject New Transgender Recruits
- Defense secretary to decide status of those now in services
- President’s memo gives direction expanding on earlier tweet
Protesters gather in front of the White House on July 26.
Photographer: Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military on Friday to reject openly transgender people as new recruits but authorized Defense Secretary James Mattis to decide how to handle transgender personnel already serving in the armed forces.
Trump also ordered the military to stop paying for gender-reassignment surgical procedures on March 23 except to protect the health of someone who has already begun the process of reassigning sex, according to a senior White House official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.