Some Arizona lawmakers are criticizing President Donald Trump’s tweet on Wednesday that he’ll reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the military.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Both Sen. John McCain and Rep. Raul Grijalva have issued statements against the president’s plans.
McCain called Trump’s statement unclear and another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter. McCain said there is “no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train and deploy to leave the military — regardless of their gender identity.”
In his statement, Grijalva said that Trump has “turned his back on more than 15,000 active transgender service members.” Grijalva also called Trump’s ban “disgusting and unpatriotic.”
Transgender people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since last summer, when the Pentagon lifted the ban under President Obama.
