President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he signed a series of executive orders significantly altering military policies, including reinstating a ban on transgender service members, revoking diversity and inclusion initiatives, and reinstating with back pay service members discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccination mandates. The signing occurred aboard Air Force One during Trump’s return flight to Washington from Florida.
The move, first reported by the New York Post and later confirmed by the White House, underscores Trump’s broader efforts to reshape the culture and policies of the U.S. military during his second term. These initiatives align with the stated priorities of newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who was sworn in on Saturday. Hegseth, a vocal critic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military, has committed to implementing what he described as “major cultural changes.”
“Today, there are more executive orders coming,” Hegseth told reporters during his first visit to the Pentagon on Monday. He highlighted efforts to remove DEI initiatives, reinstate unvaccinated service members, and bolster military defense capabilities, including a domestic missile defense system referred to as the “Iron Dome for America.”
Trump’s decision to reinstate the ban on transgender individuals in the armed forces marks a return to policies from his first administration. The 2017 ban was reversed in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden, who implemented measures allowing transgender Americans to serve openly. The new order, however, goes further by implementing standards restricting the use of gender pronouns and declaring that transgender service members are incompatible with the military’s mental and physical readiness requirements, according to White House officials.
The measures have drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups and former military leaders who argue that the changes will harm recruitment efforts and undermine the principle of equality in the armed forces. Supporters, however, view the orders as a necessary step to restore what they describe as traditional military values and readiness.
The executive orders reflect Trump’s broader push to dismantle what he has termed “woke ideology” within federal institutions, a recurring theme of his administration’s agenda.
With more orders expected in the coming days, the Pentagon is poised for swift and sweeping transformations under the leadership of Hegseth and the directives of President Trump.
