Friday's White House memorandum instructed the U.S. Defense Department to reverse an Obama-era policy that allowed transgender men and women to serve openly in the American armed forces from June 2016.
Although it was never formally implemented, many transgender army personnel came out in anticipation of the more open policy, and have now been left in a vulnerable position, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights campaigners say.
Instead on Friday, Trump directed the military "to return to the longstanding policy and practice on military service by transgender individuals" prior to 2016. He said his predecessor, Barack Obama, had not thought through whether the relaxed policy would "hinder military effectiveness and lethality, (or) disrupt unit cohesion."
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No funding for surgery The order also halts the use of government funds for any new sex-reassignment surgeries for active personnel. Those who have begun the treatment should be unaffected by the change in policy.
The ban, which Trump announced on Twitter last month, appealed to some in his conservative political base but was condemned by rights groups. His announcement was made with little apparent coordination with the Pentagon, which said the ban would not be implemented until the White House gave more clarity.
Friday's memo requires US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to determine in the coming months how to handle the futures of between 1,320 and 15,000 transgender people currently serving in the military.
Read more: Anti-transgender bus sparks protests in Boston Spanish judge: Anti-transgender bus must stay off roads The memo called on Mattis to submit a plan to Trump by February 21, 2018, on how to implement the changes.
Transgender 'purge' Friday's directive drew similar ire as Trump's original announcement, with one group which campaigns for LGBT equality in the military describing the ban as "nothing less than a purge."
US House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Democrats) said in a statement: "Prejudice, not the national defense, is behind President Trump's cruel decision to kick transgender troops out of the military."
Five serving transgender women are suing Trump and the Pentagon over last month's tweets, saying they faced uncertainty about their futures, including whether they would be fired or lose post-military and retirement benefits.
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