Trump signs executive order aimed at curtailing gender transitions for under 19s
Mr Trump said the US ‘will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another’.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at curtailing gender transitions for people under the age of 19.
In a statement, Mr Trump said: “It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
It is the latest push by Mr Trump to reverse policies set by the Biden administration to protect transgender people and their care.
On Monday, Trump directed the Pentagon to conduct a review that is likely to lead to them being barred from military service.
The order directs that federally-run insurance programs, including TRICARE for military families and Medicaid, exclude coverage for such care, and calls on the Department of Justice to vigorously pursue litigation and legislation to oppose the practice.
Mr Trump had tried to impose a ban on transgender troops during his first term, but it was tangled up in the courts for years before being overturned by Joe Biden shortly after he took office.
In his order on Monday, Mr Trump claimed that troops who identify as a gender other than their biological one “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
He said that was harmful to military readiness and required a revised policy to address the matter.
Lawyers for transgender troops who challenged the ban in the courts during Mr Trump’s first term have already pledged to fight the new ban.
