Trump Bans Transgender People From US Military ‘In Any Capacity’

“Our military… cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption,” president tweets

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President Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to ban transgender people from the United States military, marking a major shift from current policy.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow… Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming,” Trump wrote.

He continued: “Victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

Members of the transgender community have been able to serve openly in the military since last year, when then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the ban. Roughly 4,000 transgender troops are already serving openly in the military, according to CNN. It’s unclear what now happens to transgender troops who are already serving.

Back in June 2016, Trump promised the LGBT community that he would “fight” for them, so the sudden decision is sure to shock many people.

“What he’s doing now is excluding qualified and competent people from our all-volunteer military… I hope that he reverses his decision,” Rep. Ted Lieu told CNN as the news was breaking.

Some think the shocking announcement is actually an attempted distraction. New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi quoted Trump’s tweets and wrote, “This is actually German for ‘I don’t want to talk about healthcare.’”

Check out the president’s tweets:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890193981585444864

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890196164313833472

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890197095151546369

 

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