Biden overthrows Trump’s Ban
By Alexa Thomas
Just fresh in office, President Joe Biden has countermanded former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender soldiers serving in the military. In the Oval Office of the White House, on January 25, 2021, with his defense attorney, Lloyd J. Austin III, by his side, Joe Biden signed an executive order reinstituting security to qualified transgender people. This order was originally enforced by former President Barack Obama on June 30, 2016 then repealed by Donald Trump on April 12, 2019. Just as Biden had stated in November, 2020, he would push to revamp security that was overturned by Trump, and he followed through. Biden, seconds before signing the order, said “What I’m doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform.”
In 2017, Trump announced on Twitter that, in the United States, transgender Americans would no longer be ‘accepted’ to serve in the military because of the “tremendous medical costs and disruption.” Current transgender troops were allowed to continue but new recruits were hindered. Prior to the inauguration, Biden planned his whole first week as president to “advance equity and support communities of color and other underserved communities.” Lloyd Austin, new defence secretary of Biden, stated that “the Department will immediately take appropriate policy action to ensure individuals who identify as transgender are eligible to enter and serve in their self-identified gender… I believe we accomplish that mission more effectively when we represent all our fellow citizens.”
This year, Congress’ House of Representatives and the Senate are split, politically, against the Supreme Court. With the House of Representatives and the Senate leading democratic while the Supreme Court is overruled with republicans, there could be hardships for President Biden to face. However, Biden plans to issue an executive order to build on the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County which “granted federal employment nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people.” With this order being signed, the issue of transgenders in the military should be referenced and most likely will pass.
President Biden plans to use more executive orders to overturn previous Trump policies. He “has already signed orders halting construction of the Mexico border wall, overturning a ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, and launching an initiative to improve racial equity.” With his determined mindset, the possibilities are endless, what will he accomplish next?
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