President Donald Trump signed a handful of executive orders on Monday, including two banning “radical gender ideology” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from all branches of the U.S. military.
Trump stated that both orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” should be in the process of being implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of homeland security within 30 days.
Under “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” Trump states that DEI programs have undermined “leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness” and have “violated Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.”
“No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, color or creed,” the order states, adding that no branch should operate on race or sex preference.
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The order includes an internal review conducted by Hegseth within 90 days to document all instances of discrimination or promotion based on race or sex.
It also includes banning all “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories” from being taught in the Armed Forces and educational institutions operated or controlled by the military. Those theories include “gender ideology,” divisive concepts surrounding race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”
Instructors hired to teach at military academies will also be carefully reviewed to ensure “alignment with this order.”
“In addition, these institutions shall be required to teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history,” the order states.
Progress related to this order must be submitted by Hegseth and the homeland security secretary to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy within 180 days to track implementation and to find recommendations, if any, to fulfill the order’s objective.
The order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” states that the U.S. military has one mission – “to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”
Trump states in the order that the mission cannot be met if the military is accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” He also said longstanding DoD policy says service members must be free of medical conditions and physical defects that would require excessive treatment or hospitalization.
The “hormonal and surgical medical interventions” involved when an individual claims to be a gender differing from their sex do not meet the “rigorous standards” required of service members, including the commitment to being honorable, truthful and disciplined, the order states.
Fox News Digital previously reported that while exact figures are not publicly available, there are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender people serving in the military.
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“For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty,” the order states. “The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”
The DoD reportedly spent approximately $15 million on surgical and nonsurgical gender-affirming care for 1,892 active duty service members between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021, per the Congressional Research Service.
The order also states that males and females are not allowed to use or share sleeping, changing or bathing facilities unless it is absolutely necessary during an operation.
Hegseth was already ordered to immediately end preferred pronoun usage within the DoD, and within 30 days, he must identify what is needed to implement the above order and submit a report summarizing the steps to the president.
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The orders are two of many things Trump promised to change during his 2024 campaign and fall in line with the hundreds of executive actions issued during his first week in office.
