Behind The Scenes Of Trump’s Transphobic Tweetstorm
A presidential tweetstorm ignited a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the aisle — So what happens next?
President Trump, via Twitter in the early hours of July 26, shared a series of tweets that seemed to issue a directive to ban all transgender soldiers from serving in the military based on economic reasons.
So what triggered this decision, where does it stand, and where is it going?
SIGN THIS PETITION AND DEMAND THAT TRUMP NOT IMPLEMENT HIS BAN ON TRANSGENDER SERVICE MEMBERS
The Hartzler Amendment
These medical costs have been a subject of debate in the last few weeks in Congress and the media since the president’s budget has been proposed. The amendment process has caused the most conversation, especially when Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-04) introduced an amendment to slash the funding for healthcare and gender transition surgery for transgender military personnel. Naturally, an uproar followed.
Her thought process was as follows: funding should not be allocated to these types of surgeries, as the recovery process takes active-duty military service members out of commission where they are unable to protect and defend the United States during crucial times.
Even with the proposed additional $20 billion for emergency defense spending and a $54 billion increase in military spending for the new fiscal year, funding for health care and accommodations for transgender soldiers seems to be shrinking. Conservative Republicans have advocated these cuts, which have sparked the debate in the House regarding the $790 billion defense spending budget and focused the conversation on gender-transition surgery in the military.
According to a study conducted by RAND, an independent, non-profit research and development organization, there are an estimated 1,320–6,630 active transgender service members that do not even seek the transition surgery.
“Only a subset will seek gender transition–related treatment. Estimates derived from survey data and private health insurance claims data indicate that, each year, between 29 and 129 service members in the active component will seek transition-related care that could disrupt their ability to deploy.” RAND News Release, June 30, 2016
However, Hartzler estimated this type of spending would be upward of $1.3 billion over the next 10 years, of which she deemed not necessary to fund. Following a close vote of 214–209 and eventual defeat of the Hartzler amendment, the president indulged in his now infamous tweetstorm.
The Backlash
Following the announcement, members of both parties came out in opposition to this decision, including Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY).
Gillibrand has been the most vocal opponent of Trump’s proposed transgender ban, announcing she would be sponsoring legislation to block the president’s actions. She is also working to get other senators to sign on to her letter to Defense Secretary Mattis in an attempt to sway the President’s opinion. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has joined her to work on legislation to combat the ban.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), former POW recently diagnosed with brain cancer, returned to The Hill in time for the health care vote this week but also took time to weigh in on the matter. McCain, the current chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee was vocal about his disagreement with the president’s potential policy on transgender individuals serving in the military.
“The statement was unclear. The Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today. Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military — regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so — and should be treated as the patriots they are.” -John McCain, Official Statement, July 26, 2017
Even the U.S. Coast Guard came out in support of transgender troops. According to the commandment, Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, thirteen Coast Guard members identify as transgender and they have been serving and “doing meaningful Coast Guard work.”
Including the commandment, 56 generals have come out in opposition to President Trump’s executive order claims, recommending that Trump “respect the military’s judgment and not to breach the faith of service members who defend our freedoms.”
In an unusual public rebuke, Trump’s own administration has refused to enforce the proposed ban until additional review is conducted, citing due process reasons. In a letter from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Department indicated the policy on who is allowed to serve would not change until the secretary of defense issues new guidelines.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was on vacation when the president opened this can of worms and was only given a day to handle the situation. He has been silent on the issue since announcing the delay on the fate of transgender soldiers in June, but was reportedly appalled by the fact Trump made this announcement on Twitter.
An Ideological Shift
Last year, former President Obama started a policy that allowed transgender individuals to openly serve in the U.S. armed forces. President Trump subsequently delayed this policy as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis came out in June, saying that the impact of transgender recruits in the military will be reviewed over the course of a six-month period.
LGBT advocates and groups have denounced the turn-around in policy from the new president, which continues to fuel to the controversy that began in the House over the Hartzler amendment. Advocacy groups like Lambda are claiming that the president’s agenda violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses outlined in the Constitution.
The legality of the implementation of regulating transgender military personnel is still unclear, however, with many claiming their desire for lawsuits against the president. The unprecedented announcement of policy change on social media has inhibited groups from taking action, given the ambiguous nature of tweeting as an elected-official. Nonetheless, members of both parties came out in opposition to the president’s executive order claims.
Similarly, the Pentagon’s official response that transgender people will remain eligible to serve means military officials have been put in a tough place with trying to implement policy while still being on the same page as the president.
According to the New York Times, eight White House defense officials were interviewed after Mr. Trump’s twitter announcement in regards to how in fact this policy would put into effect. Of those eight people, not one could answer directly. The timing of the tweets was shocking to many and did not allow the White House staff enough time to answer questions properly in terms of the legal ramifications of Mr. Trump’s claims.
It’s possible the poorly executed Twitter announcement was an attempt by Trump to gain back some support from conservative backers. However, the move did not go over well for a lot of politicians in both parties and Americans alike, as many questions have still gone unanswered.
An Uncertain Future
While the president’s executive order challenged the livelihoods of a number of people in the U.S. military, the future fate of transgender recruits remains unknown given the Pentagon’s response to Trump’s tweets on the matter.
“We refer all questions about the President’s statements to the White House. We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving the military. We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.” Pentagon Official Statement, July 26, 2017
Regardless, the mind boggling idea that social policy continues to dictate defense and military budget spending is a reminder to keep an eye out in the future with the current White House administration and Congress. The Commander-in-Chief’s denunciation of transgender military members has further divided an already polarized Congress and demonstrated his disregard for the people who risk their lives in service to this country.
SIGN THIS PETITION AND DEMAND THAT TRUMP NOT IMPLEMENT HIS BAN ON TRANSGENDER SERVICE MEMBERS
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