DEFENSE/DHS/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security
Military Service by Transgender Individuals…
Until June 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively, the Departments) generally prohibited openly transgender individuals from accession into the United States military and authorized the discharge of such individuals. Shortly before President Obama left office, however, his Administration dismantled the Departments’ established framework by permitting transgender individuals to serve openly in the military, authorizing the use of the Departments’ resources to fund sex-reassignment surgical procedures, and permitting accession of such individuals after July 1, 2017. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security have since extended the deadline to alter the currently effective accession policy to January 1, 2018, while the Departments continue to study the issue…
The Secretary of Defense, after consulting with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may advise me at any time, in writing, that a change to this policy is warranted.”
-Donald Trump, “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security,” White House Office of the Press Secretary, Aug. 25, 2017