Tweets on Transgender Military Servicemembers

As the sun was rising on July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted, “the United States Government will not accept or allow” “Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” Commentators concluded that the three-tweet statement lacked “legal efficacy,” and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told military leadership that existing policy — which allowed transgender servicemembers to serve openly — would remain in place “until the President’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense.”