Transgender troops ban is overturned
United States Transgender troops will be allowed to serve in the US military from January 1 after a judge blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to ban them.
President Trump caught his defence officials unawares in July when he announced on Twitter that he was banning transgender people from the US forces. He said that he had made the decision after consulting “with my generals and military experts”. However, James Mattis, the defence secretary, was away at the time and other senior officers expressed surprise. Since then the Pentagon has shown little enthusiasm for the ban, and transgender troops were told that they could serve until the defence department decided how to implement it.
Last night a federal court judge in Washington said that Mr Trump’s order was likely to break constitutional rights. The judge upheld a ruling that had led to the ban being put on hold in October.......
The US military paid for an active duty member to undergo gender- reassignment surgery last month. Mr Trump had argued that the military could not withstand the cost of such procedures and that battle readiness would be impaired if transgender troops were allowed to serve. A study commissioned by the Pentagon cast doubt on both claims.