Five transgender members of the US military including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have sued President Donald Trump, challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
Trump said on Twitter on July 26 that the US government “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity” in the military, a reversal of Pentagon policy that the lawsuit said was made without consulting senior military commanders.
The surprise announcement, citing healthcare costs and unit disruption, appealed to some in Trump’s conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly.
Trump’s tweets appeared to dismiss findings from a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Pentagon that found allowing transgender people to serve would “cost little and have no significant impact on unit readiness.”
The White House said it does not respond to pending litigation.
The service members suing the president are three US Army soldiers, one US Air Force airman and one member of the US Coast Guard who are active duty.
The defendants are listed as Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis and other military leaders including Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford said in a memo a day after Trump’s tweets that there would be no change in policy until Mattis received an official order from the president.
LISTEN: Cate McGregor on Trump’s Transgender Ban. Post continues below.
That order has yet to be issued.
“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,” Dunford said.
Lawyer Levi said the plaintiffs, some of whom are near retirement, need not wait for an official policy because the tweets alone created uncertainty about their futures.
Top Comments
The figure of 8 million is very misleading, as it does not represent future and long term costs. Real estimates are put at over $200,000 per soldier, in the case the military are paying for gender reassignment surgery, hormone drug costs, counselling and so on. Based on current and future intake, this total ends up in the billions over 10 years, so it is certainly not insignificant. The military currently attracts trans soldiers at twice the statistical norm, which suggests the free medical treatment has become a very appealing factor. I appreciate many may argue that it's a cost the government should have to wear anyway, but let's be upfront about how large the costs will actually be.
They're suing for something that hasn't happened yet?
It is America
I believe it's called a "pre-emotive" strike. Considering TGs cost the military about $8m annually and the annual Viagara bill is $40m, I think that such a minimal layout and receiving 1000s of dedicated people willing to sacrifice their lives for their country in return, this is just another Trump-furphy knee-jerk reaction to satisfy a minority bunch of right wing nutters at the expense of 1000s of dedicated service-people and their families i.e. the "little people" Trump promised to protect
They're suing for the right to be in the military, when they are actually in the military.
I'm not going to argue with you about the stupidity of his tweet, that's obvious 👍
Actually it's pre-emptive