Donald Trump is commander-in-chief again. That means the military is getting back to the basics.
And President Trump’s new military order is causing chaos in the nation’s Capitol.
Trump Signs Executive Orders Banning “Radical Gender Ideology” and DEI in Military
President Donald Trump took decisive action on Monday by signing two executive orders that will significantly impact the U.S. military. These orders aim to ban “radical gender ideology” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across all branches of the armed forces. The two orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” are set to be implemented within 30 days by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of homeland security.
In “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” Trump argues that DEI programs have been detrimental to the military’s effectiveness. The order states, “No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of s*x, race, ethnicity, color or creed”.
As part of this order, Secretary Hegseth will conduct an internal review within 90 days to document instances of discrimination or promotion based on race or s*x. The order also prohibits the teaching of what it terms “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories” in military educational institutions.
The “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” order focuses on maintaining the U.S. military’s primary mission of protecting the American people. It argues that accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion” interferes with this mission.
This order also addresses transgender service members, stating that the medical interventions required do not meet the “rigorous standards” expected of service members. It’s estimated that there are between 9,000 to 14,000 transgender individuals serving in the military.
The order further mandates that males and females use separate sleeping, changing, and bathing facilities, except when operationally necessary. Secretary Hegseth has been instructed to end preferred pronoun usage within the Department of Defense immediately.
These executive orders align with Trump’s 2024 campaign promises and demonstrate his administration’s approach to military policy. The implementation of these orders will be closely monitored, with progress reports due within 180 days. At the time of writing, there have been no court challenges to the new executive orders for the U.S. military branches.
Trump’s Executive Order Targets “Woke” Practices in U.S. Military, Says Iraq Vet
The orders, signed on Monday, January 28, 2025, address several controversial issues, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, transgender troops, and the reinstatement of service members discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Iraq war veteran Rob Smith appeared on Fox Business’s “The Bottom Line” to discuss the immediate impacts of these executive orders. Smith expressed support for the measures, stating, “I think it’s great. It’s been a wild week.”
Smith provided specific examples of what he considers problematic DEI initiatives that would be affected by Trump’s order, arguing that the mainstream media is drumming up hoopla over the executive orders even though most Americans would find the new orders to be common senes moves.
“First of all, the U.S. Navy paid an active-duty service member that moonlights as a drag queen to act as a digital media ambassador and give performances in drag, which he did on a U.S. naval carrier. The second is a chief diversity officer that was employed by the Department of Defense that injected woke ideology into the school system that the children of our active-duty servicemen and women attend. His person was relieved of duty a couple of years back.”
The veteran emphasized that these incidents would be eliminated under Trump’s executive order. He clarified, “So when we talk about the DEI and the far-left nonsense that Trump’s executive order has gotten out of the military, I want to be clear that these are the very specific examples that we are talking about when it comes to the gender ideology, when it comes to the CRT [Critical Race Theory] stuff.”
Smith referenced the “Woke War Fighters” report from Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which claimed that America’s military has been compromised by the policies of former President Joe Biden’s administration. The report stated, “The world is a dangerous place, and the Biden Administration’s insanity is eroding our greatest source of security in it.”
These executive orders align with Trump’s campaign promises and his administration’s approach to military policy. The implementation of these orders will be closely monitored, with progress reports due within 180 days.
The Federalist Wire will update our readers on any news reports concerning these new military executive orders from the Trump administration.
