President Trump is moving ahead with his plan to ban most transgender people from serving in the military, with limited exceptions, following up on a proposal he called for last summer.
The White House issued a memorandum late Friday on policies determined by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, stating that transgender people are “disqualified from military service except under limited circumstances.”
The memo, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, states that “transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances.”
Mattis will have some leeway in implementing the policy, the memo states, as will Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen when it comes to the Coast Guard. The ban is something Mattis “concluded should be adopted,” it notes.
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