Trump's Controversial Military Directives: Transgender Policy, Space Defence, and Diversity Rollbacks

President Donald Trump issued an executive order to reshape military policies, focusing on transgender troops, reinstating service members affected by COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and developing a space-based missile defence system. Furthermore, all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the Defense Department and Coast Guard are to be eliminated.

In a significant shift from predecessor policies, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing sweeping changes within the U.S. Defense Department. Transgender troops face an uncertain future as the order tasks Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to devise a strategy potentially leading to their military service ban.

The directive also reinstates personnel who exited the forces due to refusing COVID-19 vaccines, challenges diversity initiatives, and pushes forward plans for a space-based missile defence shield — echoing the cold war-era Strategic Defense Initiative, yet with contemporary geopolitical motivations.

While Trump champions these orders as crucial for national security, critics, including organizations like Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign, prepare legal opposition, citing potential flaws in the erosion of equitable military representation. This unfolding development reveals a deepening divide on military and social policies as Trump eyes a comeback.

(With inputs from agencies.)