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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

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Defense &
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The Big Story

Transgender veterans, LGBTQ groups rail against Trump order

President Trump signed an executive order late Monday night that bars transgender people from openly serving in the military, provoking broad pushback.

Patricia King, who in 2015 was the first infantry soldier to come out as transgender, said Trump’s executive order sets the stage to block new enlistments, restrict reenlistments and deny access to medically necessary care for transgender service members.

“It creates a hostile environment that could push transgender service members out over time,” King said. “When we start telling transgender people that they can’t serve, we start telling them that they can’t
be heroes, we suggest that they should be stigmatized and demonized.”

Trump’s order actually doesn’t mention the transgender community or immediately ban them but says troops with a “false gender identity” are not fit to serve.

Trump said in the order that troops with “gender dysphoria “were “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member” and military service “must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.”

“To ensure we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military,” Trump said Monday at a congressional retreat. “It’s going to be gone.”

Trump on Monday also banned the military from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programs. Trump has cracked down on DEI throughout the federal government and signed an executive order proclaiming there are only two sexes: male and female.

But Trump’s banning of transgender troops has received the most backlash.

Cait Smith, director of LGBTQI+ Policy at the Center for American Progress, said Trump’s ban was “abhorrent” and “weakens our military’s readiness.”

“No one should be forced to choose between living as their authentic self and serving their country,” Smith said. “That’s not the freedom our troops put their lives on the line to defend.”

The Human Rights Campaign filed a lawsuit together with Lambda Legal challenging the order they said was unconstitutional.

GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also filed a lawsuit to challenge the ban on behalf of six servicemembers and two seeking enlistment.

After Trump’s transgender troop ban in his first term in 2017, court challenges kept it from taking effect from two years. Former President Biden reversed the ban in 2021.

Army Second Lt. Nicolas Talbott said “every individual must meet the same objective and rigorous qualifications in order to serve.”

“It has been my dream and my goal to serve my country for as long as I can remember,” Talbott said in a statement shared by GLAD and NLCR. “My being transgender has no bearing on my dedication to the mission, my commitment to my unit, or my ability to perform my duties in accordance with the high standards expected of me and every servicemember.”

Alaina Kupec, a transgender veteran who is also a Republican advocate, said she was confident in the judicial process to prevail but noted it would be a distraction for the country and the military.

“It’s going to reduce our readiness at a time where we’re already struggling to meet recruiting goals on the enlisted side,” Kupec said. “And I feel like this is just not the time with what we have going on in the Red Sea, in the Asia Pacific region.”

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Brad Dress — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

5 Takeaways on Trump’s order on transgender military service

President Trump on Monday signed an executive order effectively barring transgender people from serving openly in the military, renewing a policy he first began implementing in 2017 during his first term. The order, which does not immediately ban transgender troops, is an extension of recent efforts to unravel transgender rights and diversity initiatives instituted by former President Biden that Trump and Republicans …

Full Story

Trump says drones over New Jersey were ‘not the enemy’

President Trump said Tuesday that the drone sightings over New Jersey late last year were either authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or were from hobbyists and enthusiasts. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from Trump at her first press briefing that the FAA had flown drones in the area for research purposes. “Many of these drones were also hobbyist, recreational and private …

Full Story

Trump signs 4 new executive orders, transforming military

President Trump signed a bevy of new executive orders Monday evening that have the potential to significantly transform the Defense Department (DOD). The new orders prevent transgender people from openly serving in the military, greenlight the process of developing a missile defense shield to protect the U.S., and reinstate service members that voluntarily left or were forced out of the military over COVID-19 vaccine mandates. …

Full Story

US ships return to Red Sea amid Gaza ceasefire

U.S. ships are returning to the Red Sea following promises from Yemen’s Houthi rebels to abstain from attacks on American and British vessels. The pledge, which comes after more than a year of shipping traffic disruption on a major international trade route, was made on Jan. 19, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), as reported by Bloomberg. Since then, six U.S. and United Kingdom-linked ships have …

Full Story

On Our Radar

Trump also signed executive orders to build an Iron Dome system around the U.S. and reinstate U.S. troops fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Republican former government officials urge Senate to reject Patel nomination

A group of Republican former government officials is urging senators to reject Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI, saying his confirmation would be “a grievous mistake.” “Confirming Patel would be a grievous mistake that would endanger the FBI’s integrity and compromise its critical mission,” …

Full Story

On Tap Tomorrow

Events in and around the defense world:

The Association of the U.S. Army chats with U.S. Army Gen. Randy A. George for a hybrid event beginning at 7:15 a.m. ET.
The Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition hosts a 10 a.m. online event on the future of Syria’s chemical weapons.
The annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit runs through Wednesday in Arlington, Va.
The Atlantic Council looks at countering maritime threats for a 9 a.m. hybrid event.
The Brookings Institution will unpack expectations from the Trump administration for a 10 a.m. online event.

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Tillis assured Hegseth’s former sister-in-law her testimony could convince GOP senators to vote no (The Wall Street Journal)
Suicidal tendencies and ’80s battlefield tactics: How North Korean soldiers are operating in Russia’s war on Ukraine (CNN)

Trending Today

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid minutes before it was set to go into effect late Tuesday afternoon. … Read more

States lose access to Medicaid payment portal amid Trump federal aid freeze

State Medicaid programs across the country are reporting they’ve lost access to federal payment portals one day after President Trump announced … Read more