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In Clever Move, President Trump Rescinds Military Transgender Ban

Though it isn’t being reported this way, last Friday President Trump actually rescinded the ban he previously implemented on transgenders in the military last August.  The new memorandum (PDF) explicitly withdrew his prior policy:

I hereby revoke my memorandum of August 25, 2017, “Military Service by Transgender Individuals,” and any other directive I may have made with respect to military service by transgender individuals.

The new memo did not institute a new presidential directive.  Rather, the President deferred to the Department of Defense — that is, the “independent judgment” of the DoD — with regard to its policies.  He said [emphasis added]:

These [DoD-produced] documents set forth the policies on this issue that the Secretary of Defense, in the exercise of his independent judgment, has concluded should be adopted by the Department of Defense.

It’s a clever move.  Lawsuits and Read more