ABSTRACT
The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” did not alter the military’s policy of excluding transgender individuals from the Armed Services. On June 30, 2016, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that current transgender service members could begin to serve openly without fear of dismissal. He allowed the military one year to produce a plan for ending the ban on transgender enlistees.
DoD delayed the plan for the incoming troops for another six months. On July 26, 2017, without explanation or discussion, Trump declared in a series of tweets that transgender service members were no longer acceptable in the Armed Services. The Secretary of Defense then proposed a plan to implement the president’s directives by barring most transgender service members.
Four lower federal court judges issued injunctions against the Mattis plan, ruling it likely violated the First and Fifth Amendments. These judges rejected the government’s arguments that military readiness required a return to the exclusionary policy. The Trump administration continues to defend its policy in court.
