By Canadian Press

Trump signs order that likely sets in motion a future ban on transgender troops

Jan 27, 2025 | 10:12 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service.

Trump had tried to impose a ban on transgender troops during his first term, but it was tangled up in the courts for years before being overturned by then-President Joe Biden shortly after he took office.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he will sign a flurry of executive orders focused on the military, including to reinstate troops booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines and remove “transgender ideology” from the force, just as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began his first day on the job.

″We will offer full reinstatement to any service member who was expelled from the armed forces due to the COVID vaccine mandate,” Trump told a Republican crowd at the Trump National Doral Miami, a resort he owns. “And we will restore them to their former rank with full pay. ″

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The order, once signed, isn’t expected to have a major impact on the number of service members returning since they have been able to re-enlist since 2023 and only a tiny fraction have sought to do so. But it could take a bite out of the budget if more do now, since it requires back pay.

Trumps is also expected to order rollbacks in diversity programs,

The orders could further clarify initial directives Trump issued shortly after his inauguration last week, when he removed protections for transgender troops put in place by former President Joe Biden and banned DEI initiatives at federal agencies.

COVID-19 vaccination

At least 8,200 troops were forced out of the military in 2021 for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Notices advising them they could return were sent out in 2023, but just 113 have re-enlisted.

The reinstatement process for those ousted for refusing the vaccine requires that they meet military entry standards, unless Trump opts to change that. He and Hegseth, however, have persistently stated that the military must not reduce standards.

They would have to meet weight, fitness, medical and other requirements, and they could be refused if they now have a criminal record or other disqualifying factor. Officers would have to get recommissioned, which is a simple appointment process.

According to the services, 3,748 Marines were discharged, and 25 have opted to re-enlist; 1,903 Army soldiers were discharged, and 73 returned; 1,878 sailors were discharged and two returned; 671 airmen were discharged and 13 returned.

The Pentagon made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in August 2021 for all service members, including the National Guard and Reserve. At that time, the pandemic was still killing and sickening tens of thousands around the country, and troops were being used to help get people vaccinated.

Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said getting the vaccine was critical to maintaining a heathy, ready force that could be prepared to defend the nation. The Pentagon formally dropped the mandate in January 2023, as a result of legislation signed into law.

Defense officials said then that many troops appeared to use the vaccine mandate as a way quickly and easily to get out of their service obligations. And officials on Monday said many of those service members had gotten new jobs and moved on with their lives, and didn’t want to re-enlist.

Transgender troops

Trump had tried to impose a ban on transgender troops during his first term, but it was tangled up in the courts for years before being overturned by Biden shortly after he took office in 2021.

The new order on transgender troops does not impose an immediate ban, but directs the Pentagon to come up with a policy on their service in the armed forces based on military readiness, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Hegseth told reporters as he arrived at the Pentagon that his first official day would be busy, with additional executive orders expected “on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America — this is happening quickly.”

Trump promised during the campaign to build an Iron Dome, the advanced air defense system used by Israel.

DEI initiatives

It was not immediately clear what the additional order on DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — would be, but Trump’s initial action ending those programs across the U.S. government already has had far-reaching consequences. Without clearer direction, agencies have been taking a broad approach at removing any content that seemed to run afoul of Trump’s ban.

That temporarily included videos of the storied Tuskegee Airmen and World War II Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, which were part of DEI training courses for the Air Force’s basic military training. Videos on both the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were removed as the courses were taken down last week, causing an uproar.

WASPs were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military. The Tuskegee Airmen were the nation’s first Black military pilots, who served in a segregated WWII unit, and their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.

On Sunday, the Air Force clarified that the DEI courses had been removed to be edited but that the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP content would continue to be taught.

“The revised training which focuses on the documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our Nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January,” the Air Force said in a statement.

Hegseth said in a post on X on Sunday that any move to cut the Tuskegee Airmen content was “immediately reversed.” But the swirl of confusion reflects an ongoing struggle as leaders across the Defense Department try to purge diversity mentions from their websites and training.

Hegseth didn’t mention the issue as he walked into the building on Monday morning accompanied by Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But in other comments, Hegseth said that “military training will be focused on the readiness of what our troops in the field need to deter our enemies.”

Hegseth is also continuing to focus on the border, and told reporters gathered on the steps of the Pentagon that “whatever is needed at the border will be provided,” using active duty, National Guard and state-activated Guard troops.

Hegseth was approved by the Senate on Friday night in a tie vote that had to be broken by Vice President JD Vance.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Department of Defense at https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-defense.

Tara Copp, Lolita C. Baldor And Zeke Miller, The Associated Press