President Trump on Wednesday said he would ban transgender people from any military service.

Trump made the announcement, which would represent a major shift in military policy, on Twitter. He said he had made the decision after consulting with "my generals and military experts."

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," Trump tweeted.

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"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you"

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow...... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

....Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Trump made the surprise announcement with Defense Secretary James Mattis on vacation, stoking speculation about the Pentagon’s level of involvement in Trump’s decision.

It wasn't immediately clear what Trump's announcement would mean for the approximately 250 transgender people now serving openly in the U.S. military.

A Pentagon spokesman referred all questions about Trump’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,” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said. “We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.”

A staffer for the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday on background it was surprised by Trump’s announcement and is waiting for more information.

The committee declined to provide a statement from Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas).

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), whose son is transgender, immediately slammed the decision.

"No American, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be prohibited from honor + privilege of serving our nation #LGBT," she tweeted.

But conservatives who have been pushing for the ban to be reinstated applauded Trump’s announcement.

“President Trump’s decision today to rescind Obama’s transgender military policy has the best interests of the military in mind, and I thank him for taking this decisive action,” Rep. Vicky Jo Hartzler (R-Mo.) sid in a statement.

Trump's decision is a gesture to the conservative base at a time when he's facing declining poll numbers and increasing pressure over the Russia investigation.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request to explain the president's decision-making process.

During the 2016 presidential race, Trump called himself a "real friend" of the LGBT community in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting and accused Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWarren endorses Texas Democrat Cuellar's primary challenger Ten notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment Krystal Ball: Warren's Hillary connections revealed?; Saagar Enjeti: End the wars MORE of prioritizing "immigration policies that bring Islamic extremists" into the U.S.

“Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs,” he tweeted in June. Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016 He also criticized North Carolina's controversial "bathroom law," saying in an April 2016 interview that the state was "paying a big price" for the policy and that transgender individuals should use whatever bathroom they want. But Trump also blasted “political correctness” when asked during an October town hall about “social engineering” in the military. The questioner, a veteran, included open service by transgender troops among his concerns. "We're going to get away from political correctness," Trump told the questioner. "Some of things that they're asking you to do and be politically correct about are ridiculous." The Obama administration lifted the ban on allowing transgender troops to serve openly last year.

Under the policy set by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter, transgender troops also receive coverage for any treatment deemed medically necessary by their doctors, including surgery and hormone therapy.

That step left a decision for Mattis to make on whether to allow new transgender troops to enter the military.

Trump’s decision is a huge blow the LGBT community, which was just coming off a win after the surprising defeat of an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would have banned Pentagon funding from being used for transition-related medical care.

But under the policy Carter crafted, transgender recruits weren’t allowed to enlist pending the end of a one-year implementation period.



That was supposed to end July 1. But the night before the change was to go into effect, Mattis issued a six-month delay in the policy to study the issue more.



In a memo explaining the delay, Mattis insisted that his decision does not “change policies and procedures currently in effect.”



Mattis also promised during his confirmation hearing that he wouldn’t reverse his predecessor’s decisions unless a service chief brings him hard evidence the policy is having a negative effect.



LGBT advocates were worried immediately after the election that Trump would roll back the transgender policy, which he has the power to do unilaterally since it is not a law.



They breathed a sigh of relief after Mattis’s confirmation hearing but have since been fighting on issues such as the enlistment policy and medical care.



Earlier this month, the House voted 209-214 against banning Pentagon funding from being used for transition-related care. Twenty-four Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the amendment to the annual defense policy bill.



Mattis opposed the amendment, confirming he called Hartzler, its sponsor, at least once on the issue.



But some Republicans hoped to have a second chance, filing several similar amendments to the spending bill coming to the House floor Wednesday.

The Rules Committee on Tuesday night decided on some of the amendments that will get a vote on the House floor. None of the transgender-related amendments made it in, but there will be a second chance on Wednesday.

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) filed an amendment Wednesday to the appropriations bill that would ban Pentagon funding from being used to implement Trump’s directive.

“I can’t think of anything more backwards than turning away a brave, qualified American who wants to serve in our all-volunteer military because of their gender identity,” Peters said in a statement. “Just as we did with the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Congress must stand up against backwards politics, trust our military leaders, and put national security first.”

--This report was last updated at 12:33 p.m. </s> WASHINGTON -- Five members of the U.S. armed forces filed a lawsuit Wednesday against President Donald Trump and top military brass, seeking to stop them from banning transgender people from serving "in any capacity."

With the lawsuit, which seeks to prevent the president from reversing a policy put in place by President Barack Obama's administration, a federal judge is once again being asked to referee a clash in the country's escalating culture war. Since Trump took office in January, the administration has engaged in legal battles over shifts in policy involving immigration and gay rights.

The service members, who are suing anonymously, are already members of the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. They say they disclosed their gender orientation relying on the existing policy that permits them to serve openly.

The shift announced July 26 by Trump on Twitter violates the U.S. Constitution, the service members said in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington. The change hasn't been implemented.

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"We do not comment on active or pending litigation," the White House press office said in an email. Defense Department spokesman Dana White said in a statement that the Pentagon is still awaiting formal guidance from the White House.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a named defendant in the case, previously acknowledged the uncertainty engendered by the president's announcement.

"I know there are questions about yesterday's announcement on the transgender policy by the president," Dunford said July 27. "There will be no modifications to the current policy until the president's direction has been received by the secretary of defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidance."

The lead plaintiff, who identifies herself as Jane Doe 1, has submitted a prospective letter of resignation to the Coast Guard, stating she'd rather walk away voluntarily than be terminated because of her gender, according to the complaint. Doe 1 said she would withdraw the resignation if the administration abandoned its plan.

Three other Jane Doe plaintiffs serve in the U.S. Army, including Doe 3, who has already served in Afghanistan and "expects to be deployed to Iraq soon," according to the filing. The fifth plaintiff is a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran who has served two tours of duty in Iraq.

"Jane Doe 5's livelihood depends on her military service. Separation from the military would have devastating financial and emotional consequences for her," according to the complaint.

Trump's contemplated reversal would violate the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and has no rational basis, the plaintiffs allege. It would also deprive them of their military careers without due process, according to the lawsuit.

Treatment of transgender people has become a flash point as social conservatives in some states push to require students and sometimes adults to use school and public restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth.

In three tweets last month, Trump outlined his reasoning for reversing the Obama policy on transgender individuals in the military.

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on the decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," he said in his tweets.

The Military Times pointed out that the cost of providing Viagra to members of the armed forces is at least 10 times the costs associated with gender reassignment.

The service members' lawsuit was filed by attorneys from the Washington-based WilmerHale law firm, Boston-based Foley Hoag LLP and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Also named as defendants are Secretary of Defense James Mattis, acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.

"Besides the harm to the service members and people who want to enlist, what's most upsetting about this is for the transgender kids out there in society, for their president to say that they are inherently a disruption, that they shouldn't be able to serve," said Jon Davidson, a director of the advocacy group Lambda Legal, which isn't involved in the service members' lawsuit. "That's a terrible message to be sending to young people."

Information for this article was contributed by Erik Larson of Bloomberg News. </s> PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump released an order Friday night banning most transgender troops from serving in military except under "limited circumstances," following up on his calls last year to ban transgender individuals from serving.

The White House said retaining troops with a history or diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" — those who may require substantial medical treatment — "presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality."

Trump surprised the Pentagon's leadership in a 2017 tweet when he declared he would reverse an Obama-era plan to allow transgender individuals to serve openly. His push for the ban has been blocked by several legal challenges, and three federal courts have ruled against the ban. The Pentagon responded by allowing those serving to stay in the military, and began allowing transgender individuals to enlist beginning Jan. 1.

"This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards — including those regarding the use of medical drugs — equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization, accused the Trump administration of pushing "anti-transgender prejudices onto the military."

"There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence Administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops," said HRC President Chad Griffin.

Trump received recommendations from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in February for dealing with transgender individuals serving in the military. The White House said Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen agreed with the policy.

Earlier Friday, Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said the announcement of a new policy would have no immediate practical effect on the military because the Pentagon is obliged to continue to recruit and retain transgender people in accordance with current law. </s> Rights activists decry Trump's reversal of Obama-era decision to allow trans people to openly serve in the US military.

President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum that directs the US military to not accept transgender individuals as recruits and halts the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgeries for active personnel unless the process is already underway.

The memo, released by the White House on Friday, laid out in more detail a ban on transgender individuals serving in the US armed forces that Trump announced via Twitter last month.

The announcement reversed a policy shift started under his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

In the memorandum, Trump directed the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to stop using government funds for sex-reassignment procedures unless it is necessary "to protect the health of an individual who has already begun a course of treatment to reassign his or her sex".

The order requires Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to determine in the coming months how to handle transgender individuals currently serving in the military using criteria including "military effectiveness and lethality," budget constraints and law.

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A White House official who briefed reporters about the memo declined to specify whether transgender individuals who are currently active in the military could continue to serve based on such criteria.

The official said Trump decided the Obama administration had not identified a sufficient basis for changing what was then long-standing policy on transgender troops.

The memo called on Mattis to submit his plan on how to implement the changes by February 21 of next year.

'Nothing less than a purge'

Trump's decision appealed to some in his conservative political base while creating 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.

According to the National Centre for Transgender Equality, there are about 15,000 transgender people currently serving in the US military.

The change drew swift criticism from advocates of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

"The President's order to remove transgender service members from the United States armed forces and deny them healthcare is nothing less than a purge," Matt Thorn, executive director of OutServe-SLDN, a group dedicated to LGBT equality in the military, said in a statement.

Jennifer Levi, an official at the gay rights group GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said that the US military "is strongest when all people who are fit to serve have the opportunity to do so".

"This unprecedented policy amounts to a purge of qualified, contributing troops, and will serve only to undermine unit cohesion and weaken military readiness."

Others online, including Chelsea Manning, a transgender army private who was jailed for one of the largest leaks of classified documents in US history, also criticised Trump's move, calling it a "shameful" and "hateful". </s> President Donald Trump on Friday officially authorized the ability of the Pentagon to ban transgender individuals from joining the military, with limited exceptions, following through on a pledge he made last year.

"Among other things, the policies set forth by the Secretary of Defense state 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," a memo released by the White House on Friday night said.

Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said the announcement of a new policy would have no immediate practical effect on the military because the Pentagon is obliged to continue to recruit and retain transgender people in accordance with current law.

The Department of Justice issued a statement defending the Pentagon:

“After comprehensive study and analysis, the Secretary of Defense concluded that new policies should be adopted regarding individuals with gender dysphoria that are consistent with military effectiveness and lethality, budgetary constraints, and applicable law," the statement reads. "The Department of Justice will continue to defend DOD’s lawful authority to create and implement personnel policies they have determined are necessary to best defend our nation.

"Consistent with this new policy, we are asking the courts to lift all related preliminary injunctions in order to ensure the safety and security of the American people and the best fighting force in the world.”

But criticism came quickly from LGBT advocates and from the leadership of the Democratic Party.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization, accused the Trump administration of pushing "anti-transgender prejudices onto the military."

"There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence Administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops," said HRC President Chad Griffin.

The Democratic National Committee released a statement signed by Chairman Tom Perez, DNC LGBT Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes, and DNC Treasurer Bill Derrough, whom the DNC says was prevented from serving in the military because he is openly gay.

“This decision is an insult to our brave transgender service members and all who wear our nation’s uniform," the statement reads. "Instead of fulfilling his oath to protect the American people, Donald Trump and Mike Pence are putting our nation’s security at risk and shoving real American patriots back in the closet."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote, "This latest memorandum is the same cowardly, disgusting ban the President announced last summer. No one with the strength and bravery to serve in the U.S. military should be turned away because of who they are."

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in February sent Trump a memorandum laying out policies that "in the exercise of his independent judgment" should be implemented by the Defense Department. The memo reads, in part:

“Based on the work of the Panel and the Department’s best military judgement, the Department of Defense concludes that there are substantial risks associated with allowing the accession and retention of individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria and require, or have already undertaken, a course of treatment to change their gender.

"Furthermore, the Department also finds that exempting such persons from well-established mental health, physical health, and sex-based standards, which apply to all Service members, including transgender Service members without gender dysphoria, could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden of the military that is mot conductive to military effectiveness and lethality."

In July, Trump tweeted that the federal government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military" - reversing a 2016 policy under President Barack Obama. The move caught the Pentagon by surprise.

"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail," the president said at the time.

Trump's push for the ban has been blocked by several legal challenges and the Pentagon began allowing transgender recruits to seek enlistment in January.

A 2016 study by the Rand Corp. estimated that nearly 4,000 transgender troops were on active duty and in the reserves, Politico reported. But LGBT advocacy groups in the military put the figure at around 15,000, the report said.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson, Lukas Mikelionis and the Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> US President Donald Trump signed a new memorandum on Friday that bans most transgender people from serving in the US military.

The White House said transgender individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, defined as "those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery," would be disqualified from military service "except under certain limited circumstances."

Transgender troops "present considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality," the latest memorandum said.

The revised order makes good on a promise Trump made last summer to roll back an Obama-era policy of accepting transgender military personnel. But the directive pulls back from a blanket ban following months of legal wrangling.

Trump's initial memo had to be modified after federal courts ruled against the ban in four separate cases, saying it violated the right to equal protection under the US Constitution.

The latest plan gives the secretaries of defense and homeland security greater discretion over whether a transgender person can serve.

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Some 8,980 service members reportedly identify as transgender, but only 937 active duty personnel were diagnosed with gender dysphoria since the end of June 2016, according to White House figures. There are over 1,300,000 active duty personnel of the US military, according to July 2017 data from the Department of Defense.

It remains to be seen whether the ban will be fully implemented. The Pentagon said on Friday it would continue to comply with current federal law.

"(The Pentagon) will continue to assess and retain transgender service members," Defense Department spokesman Major David Eastburn insisted.

The US military responded to Trump's original order by allowing those serving to stay in the military and began allowing transgender individuals to enlist beginning on January 1.

Under the latest guidelines, the Pentagon can disqualify potential recruits unless a medical provider certifies that they have been clinically stable in their preferred sex for 18 months, and are free of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas.

Read more: Whistleblower Chelsea Manning prepares for US Senate run

Trump's latest move was immediately rounded upon by LGBTI rights groups.

"There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops," Chad Griffin, president of the advocacy group The Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement.

But White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the move, saying, "This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards — including those regarding the use of medical drugs — equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen."

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Five transgender members of the U.S. military including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.

Trump said on Twitter on July 26 that the U.S. 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 did not immediately respond to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The service members suing the president are three U.S. Army soldiers, one U.S. Air Force airman and one member of the U.S. Coast Guard who are active duty.

All have come out as transgender to their commanding officers but are anonymous in the lawsuit, named only as Jane Doe, for fear of retribution, said Jennifer Levi, a lawyer from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. The group filed the lawsuit along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union said it was preparing its own lawsuit.

The lawsuit said Trump's tweets violate the rights of the service members to due process and equal protection under the law. It asks the court to declare Trump's directive as unconstitutional and to issue injunctions to stop it.

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.

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. </s> In this Aug. 3, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. AP Photo

Two LGBT-rights organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday challenging President Donald Trump's tweets declaring he wants a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of five transgender service members with nearly 60 years of combined military service.

Transgender people have been allowed to service openly in the military since June 2016. Trump, in a series of tweets on July 26, announced that he planned to end that policy.

The government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military," he tweeted, contending that their service entailed "tremendous medical costs and disruption."

The lawsuit, filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says such a ban is unconstitutional, denying transgender service members equal protection and due process.

Dozens hold "Resist" signs near a Times Square military recruitment center to show their anger at Trump's decision to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military on July 26, 2017, in New York. Spencer Platt / Getty Images file

Lawyers handling the lawsuit said they hoped the court would move swiftly to prevent a ban from taking effect, given the uncertainty that transgender service members now face in regard to their livelihoods and retirement benefits.

"The damage is happening now," said Jennifer Levi, Director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project. "These service members were told in June 2016 they could come out and continue to openly serve."

The five plaintiffs — who were not identified in the lawsuit — serve in the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Army. Their years of service range from three years to two decades, and include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment.

Named in the suit, along with Trump, are Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other national security officials.

When Trump first tweeted his plan, Dunford said the military would not act on the tweets until a formal order to do so was issued by the president, who is also the commander-in-chief of the military. But a team of military lawyers has been pulled together to figure out how to handle the matter.

The American Civil Liberties Union says it told the White House on Tuesday that it intends to sue, and requested that relevant documents be preserved in preparation for the lawsuit. </s> President Donald Trump moved to ban transgender people from the U.S. military in most circumstances, the latest in a series of actions that have met resistance from courts though may resonate with his most ardent supporters as midterm elections approach.

Trump’s statement was immediately denounced by civil-liberties groups and Democratic leaders. It capped a week in which the president followed through with his campaign pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, and ousted his national security adviser, who was seen as a moderating influence, in favor of John Bolton, a hero of the right.

Trump said in the statement late Friday that the new policy would bar those with gender dysphoria. The term describes transgender persons uncomfortable with their biological sex, resulting in significant distress or difficulty functioning, according to a Feb. 22 memo to the president from Defense Secretary James Mattis. Persons with gender dysphoria “may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery,” Trump said in his statement.

“Transgender persons who require or have undergone gender transition are disqualified from military service,” according to the Mattis memo.

The plan is less broad than a ban the president proposed in July that touched off a legal confrontation and reignited a cultural debate that has already seen fierce disagreements and campaigns in some states to require that students use school restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth.

The administration Friday asked a federal court in Maryland to lift its order against Trump’s prior transgender policy, saying that “far from a categorical ban,” the new rules would turn on gender dysphoria and contain “nuanced” exceptions allowing some transgender individuals to serve. The administration asked for a ruling from U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis in Baltimore by May 23.

In announcing the earlier ban with a flurry of tweets in July, Trump cited threats to troop readiness and morale, as well as costs associated with medical services as reasons to reverse President Barack Obama’s policy allowing transgender people to join the armed forces.

In August, Trump followed with a directive to the military to reject openly transgender people as new recruits, and for Mattis to decide how to handle transgender personnel already serving in the armed forces.

In the Feb. 22 memo, Mattis said “there are substantial risks” to allowing service by those with gender dysphoria, and their inclusion could “impose an unreasonable burden on the military that is not conducive to military effectiveness and lethality.” The document outlined “limited circumstances” permitting service by transgender persons with gender dysphoria.

Opponents, some of whom had been fighting the administration in court, were quick to responded to Trump’s latest move.

“The policy effectively coerces transgender people who wish to serve into choosing between their humanity and their country,” Joshua Block, a senior staff lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project, said in a statement.

Aaron Belkin, the director of the the Palm Center, a California-based institute that researches the military service of sexual minorities, said there was “no evidence to support a policy that bars from military service patriotic Americans who are medically fit and able to deploy.”

“Cowardly, disgusting,” is how Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and the House minority leader, described the ban in a statement. “No one with the strength and bravery to serve in the U.S. military should be turned away because of who they are.”

In the 2016 campaign, Trump actively sought the support of socially conservative groups, some of whom supported the bathroom access restrictions, while also promising to “fight for” the gay and transgender community.

Gregory T. Angelo — president of Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for equal rights for the LGBT community — said in a statement that the policy appeared to allow “continued open service of current transgender soldiers,” tantamount to an admission by the Pentagon that “there is ultimately no difficulty with the status quo” and that the policy is reverse engineered and may succeed only in “stoking culture wars.”

Civil-rights advocates said while some transgender service members might be permitted to continue to serve under the announced policy, the exceptions seemed unclear and the policy was likely to foster a hostile climate for those who do wish to remain in the military. They said they would continue to fight the policy in the courts.

At least four lawsuits have been filed seeking to overturn the ban, and several courts issued preliminary injunctions while the cases proceed. In November, Garbis, the federal judge in Baltimore, called the president’s tweets announcing the change in policy “capricious, arbitrary, and unqualified.”

And last week, a federal judge in Washington said that the Trump administration had failed to identify evidence it might use to defend the policy. That judge, Marsha Pechman, criticized the administration’s earlier claims that no such information could be identified because the policy was not in effect.

Care related to gender reassignment costs the Pentagon $2.4 million to $8.4 million annually, the larger number a little more than 0.1 percent of the military’s entire health-care bill, according to a 2016 Rand Corporation study. By contrast, the military spent $84 million on Viagra and other drugs for erectile dysfunction for active-duty troops, eligible family members and retirees in 2014 alone, the Military Times reported.
US President Donald Trump issues an order banning "transgender persons who require or have undergone gender transition" from the military. Pentagon spokesman Major David Eastburn says this announcement will have no immediate practical effect for the military which will continue to recruit and retain transgender people in accordance with current law.