President Trump on Monday, in his first executive order, revoked dozens of Biden-era actions, including one that allowed members of the transgender community to serve in the military.
In a signing ceremony before supporters at Capitol One Arena, Trump revoked Executive Order 14004, signed by his predecessor, former President Biden, in January 2021.
The Biden order, also called Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their Country in Uniform, had revoked a 2018 ban on transgender members from serving in the military that was implemented in Trump’s first term.
It also more broadly ensured that no servicemember will be discharged or separated from the military based on gender identity and allows for their records to be corrected if they have been in the past.
The White House said it revoked a slate of Biden-era executive orders because the previous administration had “embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices” across the federal government.
Trump’s White House specifically called out diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that “has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.”