No, The Military Is Not Defying Trump On Transgender Ban—Because Trump Made No Ban No, the military is not ‘defying’ President Trump’s orders. They are waiting for them. Trump has made zero policy follow-ups to his viral tweets about a military transgender ban.
By James Hasson
August 15, 2017 The hot take from wistful progressives and conspiratorial-minded conservatives, and casual observers everywhere who are unfamiliar with the military’s operating procedures, is that the Pentagon is essentially refusing the commander-in-chief’s orders about transgender service members. Unfortunately, this narrative is picking up steam with each day that passes without the publication of a formal policy change.
A significant number of outlets have run stories about the Pentagon’s supposed insubordination. Even credible, thoughtful commentators like Charles Krauthammer are discussing the “whiff of insubordination” coming from the Pentagon. With respect, they are all wrong.
Trump Hasn’t Done Anything But Tweet YetLet’s recap: after Trump tweeted out his intent to return the transgender service member policy to its pre-Obama form, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Joe Dunford, announced that the Pentagon would not implement the policy change until it received formal, detailed guidance from the White House. Apparently, his response has been wistfully interpreted as a soft refusal of a presidential order. But what else would you expect the general to say?
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http://thefederalist.com/2017/08/15/no-military-not-defying-trump-transgender-ban-trump-made-no-ban/
