Directive-type Memorandum-19-004

The Trump trans soldier exclusion took effect with the Directive-type Memorandum-19-004 signed by David L. Norquist of the United States Department of Defense. The DTM banned most transgender individuals from serving or enlisting in the United States Armed Forces and applied to all organizational entities in the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard.

The memorandum banned new applicants who have any history of medical transition treatment. Applicants with a history of gender dysphoria were presumptively disqualified unless they have been deemed "stable" after 36 months and willing to detransition to their assigned sex.

The DTM took effect on April 12, 2019. Originally scheduled to expire on March 12, 2020, it was extended until September 12, 2020. Before it expired, it was replaced by a 2020 version of DoD Instruction 1300.28, “Military Service by Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria", which took effect on September 4, 2020.

After the 2020 United States presidential election, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States. One of his first executive orders expected after being sworn in as United States President on January 20, 2021, was the repeal of Presidential Memorandum on Military Service by Transgender Individuals which was expected to happen on January 24, 2021. On January 25, 2021, Biden signed an executive order which required the U.S. Department of Defense to reverse the transgender military ban.

History

On October 3, 2016, Donald Trump called transgender individuals serving the United States military as "politically correct", but said he would leave such decisions to top military leaders. On May 16, 2017, a letter that was signed by dozens of right-leaning groups pushed for banning transgender individuals from the United States military. After the failure of passage of House Amendment 183, an amendment to prohibit the Pentagon funding gender reassignment surgeries sponsored by Vicky Hartzler, to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, House Republicans went to Defense Secretary James Mattis to prohibit the Pentagon funding gender reassignment surgeries, who refused to immediately upend the policy. An extensive Defense Department review of the policy was already underway, but a decision wasn't expected for months. So House Republicans went to the White House to prohibit the Pentagon funding gender reassignment surgeries. Chief strategist Steve Bannon encouraged Trump to deal with the matter now and played a role in pushing Trump to move ahead with banning transgender individuals from the military, despite the ongoing Pentagon review.

In July 2017, the Freedom Caucus threatened not to vote for the budget unless President Trump instituted some prohibition on paying for gender reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender people serving in the military. The interagency process had gone to work on the question. The general counsels of the departments and agencies had weighed in. The Deputies Committee had met, and there were several Principals Committee meetings. There was no agreement, but four options were developed. The first was to retain the Obama-era policy. The second was giving Secretary Jim Mattis leeway. The third was to ban transgender people from the military, but come up with a plan for transgender people currently serving. The fourth was to ban all transgender people from the military.

On July 26, 2017, President Trump tweeted that he would ban transgender personnel in the United States military. According to Politico, President Trump had always planned to ban transgender individuals from the military and prohibit the Pentagon funding gender reassignment surgeries. According to numerous congressional and White House sources, the tweet was a last-ditch attempt to save a House proposal that was a priority for Trump and was on the verge of defeat.

On August 4, 2017, a guidance called "A Guidance Policy for Open Transgender Service Phase Out" was approved by the White House Counsel's office. The guidance encourages early retirement, push out any enlisted personnel after their contract expired, and fire transgender officers who are up for promotion. The new policy did allow transgender service members to continue serving, but offered no protection from harassment or other efforts to get them to quit, along with prohibiting coverage of transitioning or other medical costs. The guidance was expected to be transmitted to the Pentagon the week of August 7, 2017, but the threat of war with North Korea, internal conflict within the White House, and push back from the military prompted the authors of the new Trump policy to revise it again.

Provisions

* Describes transgender military service as "special accommodations"
* No person, solely on the basis of his or her gender identity, will be denied accession, involuntarily separated or discharged, denied reenlistment or continuation of service, or subjected to adverse action or mistreatment within the United States military
* Transgender service members or applicants for accession to the United States military are subject to the same standards as cisgendered people
* When a standard, requirement, or policy depends on whether the individual is a male or a female ( e.g., medical fitness for duty; physical fitness and body fat standards; berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities; and uniform and grooming standards), all persons will be subject to the standard, requirement, or policy associated with their biological sex
* A history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria is disqualifying unless:
** As certified by a licensed mental health provider, the applicant demonstrates 36 consecutive months of stability in the applicant' s biological sex immediately preceding submission of the application without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning; and
** The applicant demonstrates that the applicant has not transitioned to his or her preferred gender and a licensed medical provider has determined that gender transition is not medically necessary to protect the health of the individual; and
** The applicant is willing and able to adhere to all applicable standards
*A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or a history of sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery is disqualifying
* The accession standards will be reviewed and either maintained or changed no later than 24 months from the effective date of this DTM
* May consult with a military medical provider, receive a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and receive mental health counseling, but may not obtain a gender marker change in DEERS or serve in their preferred gender
* The United States Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard provide equal opportunity to all Service members, in an environment free from harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation
* Separation processing will not be initiated until the enlisted Service member has been formally counseled on his or her failure to adhere to such standards and has been given an opportunity to correct those deficiencies, or has been formally counseled that his or her indication that he or she is unable or unwilling to adhere to such standards may lead to processing for administrative separation and has been given an opportunity to correct those deficiencies
* Separation processing will not be initiated until the enlisted Service member has been counseled in writing that the condition does not qualify as a disability"

Exempt individuals

* Individuals are exempt from the ban if they had before the effective date of this DTM:
** Entered into a contract for enlistment into the Military Services using DD Form 4, "Enlistment/Reenlistment Document Armed Forces of the United States", available on the DoD Forms Management Program website a
DoD Forms Management
or an equivalent, or were selected for entrance into an officer commissioning program through a selection board or similar process; and
** Either:
*** Were medically qualified for Military Service or selected for entrance into an officer commissioning program in their preferred gender in accordance with DTM-16-005; or
*** As a Service member, received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from, or had such diagnosis confirmed, by a military medical provider

Waivers

* The Secretaries of Military Departments and the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard my grant full or partial waivers on a case by case individual basis for transgender individuals who are not exempt pursuant to this policy
* Delegating waiver authority may not be delegated lower than the Military Service Personnel Chiefs for the Secretaries of Military Departments and the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources for the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.

Waivers are granted separately for gender dysphoria, to serve as one's preferred gender, and to receive maintenance hormone therapy. There is ambiguity as to the consequences of a denial of the waiver.

On May 14, 2020, for the first time the United States Navy granted a wavier to an anonymous Naval officer, who was facing involuntary discharge serve, to serve in their preferred gender, to include obtaining a gender marker change in (the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) and being allowed to adhere to standards associated with their preferred gender, such as uniforms and grooming.

Comparison table

Enforcement

As of August 7, 2019, according to the ''Washington Blade'', the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard have engaged in no discharges under Directive-type Memorandum-19-004. Also reported by the ''Washington Blade'', the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, and the United States Marine Corps have engaged in no denial of enlistment to applicants under Directive-type Memorandum-19-004.

United States Coast Guard

As of August 7, 2019, according to the ''Washington Blade'', the United States Coast Guard reported denying enlistment to two applicants under Directive-type Memorandum-19-004.

United States National Guard

The following state national guards are currently not enforcing the ban on transgender troops: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

United States Navy

Service Members may live socially in their preferred gender while off-duty. There is no policy that prohibits the ability of a Service Member to express themselves off-duty in their preferred gender. Appropriate civilian attire, as outlined in the uniform regulations, will not be determined based on gender. Regional commanders and the senior officers present may suspend or restrict the privilege of wearing preferred gender civilian attire to meet local conditions and host-nation agreements with foreign countries.

United States Naval Academy

Starting in the fall of 2020, the United States Naval Academy will ban people who are transgender from attending the school.

Retention bills

Lawsuits

Four lawsuits challenging Directive-type Memorandum-19-004 yielded no judicial remedies:

*'' Jane Doe v. Trump''
*'' Stone v. Trump''
*''Karnoski v. Trump''
*'' Stockman v. Trump''

The decision by the United States Supreme Court to stay preliminary injunctions in the cases ''Karnoski v. Trump'' and ''Stockman v. Trump'' suggests the justices are likely to uphold the ban if they ever rule on the issue.

H.Res. 124

On March 28, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed, with 238 yeas, 185 nays, 1 present, and 8 not voting, , a non-binding resolution expressing opposition to banning service in the Armed Forces by openly transgender individuals.

Opinion polling

Reactions

Laverne Cox said, " This administration's ban on transgender service members will go into effect this Friday April 12, 2019. They have targeted trans people from the moment they took power."

Kirsten Gillibrand blasted Trump for his discriminatory directive, saying, "A man onald Trumpwho has never served has told men and women that their service is not worthy, based on their gender identity. I can't think of a more discriminatory, outrageous statement." Another Democratic politician, Steve Bullock, the governor of Montana, announced he would allow transgender Americans to serve in the military. Elizabeth Warren pledged to overturn military transgender ban on the first day of her presidency.

The American Medical Association told the Associated Press in April 2019 that the memorandum mischaracterized transgender people as having a "deficiency".

On March 18, 2019, Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker vowed to reverse Donald Trump's ban on transgender individuals serving in the military if elected.

The military ban has widespread support among Republicans. The Republican National Committee has endorsed the trans ban from the military. Representative Ken Calvert of California has called for the exclusion of trans soldiers due to "deployability" problems. Calvert stated, "Individuals with medical conditions that do not allow them to deploy, such as those identified in the policy, adversely impact military readiness and reduce the military's warfighting capability."

Some of Trump's own supporters have expressed their opposition to Directive-type Memorandum-19-004, including Christopher R. Barron. In addition, 56 retired generals and admirals signed on to a statement opposing the directive.

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Mike Bloomberg pledged to reverse the ban on transgender individuals in the military.

In September 2020, the Democratic nominee Joe Biden promised, "As president, I will direct the Department of Defense to allow transgender service members to serve openly, receive needed medical treatment, and be free from discrimination." When Biden was asked about "the rights of transgender people, banning them from military service" in a televised townhall on October 15, 2020, Biden replied, "I would just flat-out change the law. I would eliminated r. Trump'sexecutive orders, number one."

Repeal and inclusion

On January 25, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14004, which ended the transgender military ban. Despite immediately revoking the 2017 and 2018 presidential memorandums which aided the instruction, the U.S. Department of Defense is not required to repeal the Instruction until after holding consultation with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense announced gender inclusion at the end of March 2021.

See also

* Transgender personnel in the United States military
* Transgender inequality

References

External links

DOD INSTRUCTION 1300.28

Directive-type Memorandum (DTM)-19-004

MARADMINS Number: 220/19

NAVADMIN 070/19


United States Coast Guard transgender policy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Directive-type Memorandum-19-004
2010s in LGBT history
2019 in American law
2019 in military history
Trump administration controversies
Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States
Employment discrimination
LGBT rights in the United States
United States federal defense and national security legislation
United States military law
Transgender people and the United States military
Discrimination against transgender people
Transgender law in the United States
Executive orders of Joe Biden