The Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security Regarding Military Service by Transgender Individuals is the 43rd

presidential memorandum A presidential memorandum is a type of directive issued by the president of the United States to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the various departments and agencies found under the executive branch of the United State ...

signed by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Donald Trump on March 23, 2018. The memorandum: * Revokes the Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security. * The United States Secretary of Defense and United States Secretary of Homeland Security may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals. On 13 April 2018 the policy was stayed when a federal district court ruled that the 2018 memorandum essentially repeated the same issues as its predecessor order from 2017, that transgender service members (and transgender individuals as a class) were a protected class entitled to

strict scrutiny In U.S. constitutional law, when a law infringes upon a fundamental constitutional right, the court may apply the strict scrutiny standard. Strict scrutiny holds the challenged law as presumptively invalid unless the government can demonstrate th ...

of adverse laws (or at worst, a

quasi-suspect class In United States constitutional law, a suspect classification is a class or group of persons meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protec ...

), and ordered that matter continue to a full trial hearing on the legality of the proposed policy. On January 25, 2021, Trump's successor Joe Biden signed an executive order revoking this memorandum.

Enactment

On March 23, 2018, Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, told the '' Washington Blade'' that the “DOD will still comply with federal court rulings and continue to assess and retain transgender service members,”. On March 24, 2018, Eastburn said that given ongoing lawsuits and court rulings on the issue that there is "likely be no immediate impact on transgender service." The Memorandum for Sector Commanders, Battalion Commanders, MEPS Commanders, Directors, and Special Staff Officers, issued December 8, 2017, enacted a policy guidance to recruits to explain how to enlist transgender individuals and states that the memorandum “shall remain in effect until expressly revoked.” On April 18, 2018, Commandant

Paul F. Zukunft Paul Frederick Zukunft (born 30 January 1955) is a retired admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 25th commandant. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Commandant, with the rank of admiral, in May 2014 and relieved Ro ...

told the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security that the United States Coast Guard would continue to allow transgender members to serve unless specific legislation is passed banning them. On February 6, 2019, Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, the assistant adjutant general for the California National Guard, told the California Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee that the California National Guard would not remove transgender soldiers and airmen from its ranks.

Lawsuits

There are four lawsuits involving the policy: :* ''

Jane Doe v. Trump ''Jane Doe v. Trump'' (1:17-cv-01597-CKK) was a lawsuit filed on August 9, 2017 and decided January 4, 2019 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit sought to block Donald Trump and top United States Department ...

'' :* '' Stone v. Trump'' :* ''

Karnoski v. Trump ''Karnoski v. Trump'' (2:17-cv-01297-MJP) was a lawsuit filed on August 29, 2017 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The suit, like the similar suits ''Jane Doe v. Trump'', ''Stone v. Trump'', and ''Stockm ...

'' :* ''

Stockman v. Trump ''Stockman v. Trump'' (5:17-cv-01799-JGB-KKx) is an old lawsuit filed on September 5, 2017, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The suit, like the similar prior suits ''Jane Doe v. Trump'', ''Stone v. Trum ...

'' On April 13, 2018, the policy was stayed in ''

Karnoski vs. Trump ''Karnoski v. Trump'' (2:17-cv-01297-MJP) was a lawsuit filed on August 29, 2017 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The suit, like the similar suits '' Jane Doe v. Trump'', ''Stone v. Trump'', and '' Sto ...

'' (Western District of Washington), when the court ruled that the 2018 memorandum essentially repeated the same issues as its predecessor order from 2017, that transgender service members (and transgender individuals as a class) were a protected class entitled to

of adverse laws (or at worst, a

), and ordered that matter continue to a full trial hearing on the legality of the proposed policy. The government has petitioned the US Supreme Court in November 2018 to reverse the stay while the cases are pending. The Court, in a 5–4 order along ideological lines issued in January 2019, agreed to lift the stay while they continued to deliberate on the merits of the cases.

Repeal

On January 25, 2021, President Joe Biden held a meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and afterwards signed an executive order which lifted the transgender military ban.

References

{{LGBT rights in the United States 2018 in American law Discrimination against transgender people LGBT rights in the United States Transgender history in the United States History of LGBT civil rights in the United States Transgender law in the United States Transgender people and the United States military 2018 in LGBT history Trump administration controversies United States presidential directives

Enactment

Lawsuits

Repeal

See also

References