Ron DeSantis Pledges to Revive Ban on Trans Military Members
Florida governor claims ousting transgender personnel will entice conservatives to enlist in the military and reverse declines in recruitment.
The United States military has a recruitment problem.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s solution? Revive the Trump-era ban prohibiting transgender people from serving openly in the Armed Forces — which, as one can deduce using basic arithmetic, would lower the already-low number of eligible recruits.
The presidential hopeful pledged to roll back a slew of “woke” military policies during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper last week, describing the army’s falling 25% short of its 2022 recruitment goals as proof that the military is “losing its way, not focusing on the mission.”
For DeSantis, the problem in the military isn’t rampant white nationalism, but instead so-called “wokeness.” In addition to re-banning trans people, DeSantis vowed to abolish efforts to promote racial diversity and cultural competency training among service members. He also said he would prohibit the military from fighting climate change if elected in 2024.
While DeSantis is currently neither the favorite to win the White House nor his own party’s nomination in 2024, his ideas may be getting a boost from ideological allies in Congress.
In recent weeks, as members of the GOP have fully embraced their party’s identity opposing “wokeness” in all its forms ahead of the 2024 election, House Republicans have successfully tacked on amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act seeking to disempower LGBTQ service members.
Among those amendments are provisions to prohibit health insurance and government programs for active-duty service members and their family members with special needs from covering the costs of gender-affirming treatments, and provisions to scuttle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for military members.
David Stacy, the vice president of government affairs for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, criticized DeSantis’s campaign promises.
“LGBTQ+ service members have served with honor and distinction, defending our fundamental freedoms, sometimes facing the ultimate price,” Stacy said in a statement.
“A military that is open to all qualified Americans is a military that is stronger and better — but instead of honoring our service members, Ron DeSantis would turn back to an era of discrimination and witch hunts,” Stacey added. “All of this in service of his cruel and cynical politics of division and scapegoating to appeal to a small, but radical, political base.”
Despite what DeSantis might claim, an aversion to “wokeness” ranks only ninth among reasons not to join the military, according to an unpublished survey of military-age Americans by the U.S. Army. Citing that survey during the interview with DeSantis, Tapper claimed the survey data show young people primarily don’t want to join the ranks because they don’t want to experience racism or misogyny or to be killed, injured, or separated from their families.
DeSantis responded: “Well, but I think there’s an issue about — not everyone really knows what wokeness is. I mean, I’ve defined it, but a lot of people who rail against wokeness can’t even define it.”
Invoking racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, DeSantis previously defined wokeness as “a form of cultural Marxism,” that prioritizes “identity politics” over “merit and achievement.” DeSantis — who has signed multiple bills into law seeking to roll back LGBTQ visibility and forbid teaching about deep-rooted structural inequities like racism and misogyny — has also referred to wokeness as “a war on the truth.”
Last week, U.S. Admiral John Kirby, who serves as the White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, said in a now-viral speech endeavors like those prescribed by DeSantis –- namely, repealing diversity and inclusion policies, as well as provisions to deny funds to service members seeking abortions — would hurt military recruitment.
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