The White House is expected to release official guidelines on reissuing the transgender ban in the American military. According to the Wall Street Journal, Defense Secretary James Mattis received a memo stating that official instructions will be issued. The memo's directions included blocking future transgender soldiers from serving in the armed forces and deciding on current transgender soldiers' ability to serve. The memo also instructs the Pentagon to cease payments on medical services for transgender soldiers. This memo is not the official guideline; official guidelines is expected to be announced in the next few days. The first announcement of President Trump's transgender ban came in three consecutive tweets on July 26th. He claimed that the cost from transgender medical expenses has been a burden on the military. The Twitter announcement came as a surprise because the president has routinely expressed his support for the LGBTQ community. He has referred to himself as a “friend” promising to protect their rights. There are currently 2450 transgender soldiers serving in the United States Military who are now unsure of their future service or access to healthcare. Brigadier General Rachel Tevet-Weisel, the Women's Affairs Advisor to the IDF Chief of Staff, who is responsible for LGBT policy-making, disagrees with President Trumps claim that transgender soldiers are a burden. 'The main issue is that it's not really an issue,' claiming that transgender creates no limitations on serving.
