Posted on 07/28/2017 9:34:04 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught off guard by President Trump's announcement that he was banning transgender people from serving in the military, according to a New York Times report.
Mattis, who was on vacation at the time of Trump's decision, only had one day's worth of notice before Trump tweeted his announcement of the policy, the paper reported.
The report described him as "appalled."
Sources close to the Defense secretary told the Times that Mattis was infuriated by the tweets, and saw them as an insult to transgender Americans currently serving in the military.
On Wednesday morning, Trump wrote on Twitter that “after consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."
"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” Trump added. “Thank you." A letter from Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford on Thursday indicated that the policy would not be changed until the White House issued further "guidance."
“There will be no modifications to the current policy until the president’s direction has been received by the secretary of defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidance,” Dunford wrote.
Mattis, according to the Times, had been quietly lobbying Republicans for months to defeat a GOP-led amendment to the 2017 spending bill that would prevent the military from spending money on transition surgery or hormone therapy for transgender service members. The report states that Mattis initially resisted the policy allowing transgender Americans to serve in the armed forces, but accepted that the policy was to remain in place.
His predecessor, former Obama Defense Secretary Ash Carter, ripped the Trump administration for reversing the policy.
“To choose service members on other grounds than military qualifications is social policy and has no place in our military,” Carter said in a statement. “There are already transgender individuals who are serving capably and honorably.
"This action would also send the wrong signal to a younger generation thinking about military service.”
Carter wasn't the only critic of Trump's announcement. Sen John McCain
(R-Ariz.) joined several colleagues to criticize the policy, as well as the decision to announce it in tweets.
“There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train and deploy to leave the military — regardless of their gender identity,” McCain said Wednesday after the announcement.
He called Trump's announcement “yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter.”
Thousands of service members could be affected by Trump's new policy. A 2016 study found that anywhere from 2,000 to 11,000 active-duty service members identify as transgender. The study noted that not all of these service members will seek transition surgery or hormone therapy while part of the military.
nySLIMES? Oh, yeah. They are believeable. Oh, yeah...
Total BS
Or maybe he thinks this gets him off the hook. He’s a nice man, Trump is a mean man.
Sources say, eh?
It doesn’t even make sense that McCain would support deviants being in the military. As a former POW, he more than anyone else should be aware of the treatment they would get as prisoners.
war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
Sources say. I’ve interacted with Mattis. Seriously doubt he would EVER be “appalled” at this.
Of course, I am shocked, just shocked that....anyone would think that general Mattis would....
:)...:)
(in a pig’s @$$!)
*
illegitimi non carborundum!
GyG!
******
LOL.
I will believe that it’s fake news as soon as the White House delivers the details of the new policy to the Pentagon and the Pentagon starts implementing it.
How to tell fake news? unnamed sources, often use of phrase “reported as,” sources close to XXX say, supports an immediate leftist narrative, etc...
“Appalled,” and “and saw them as an insult to transgender”
Not only do I doubt the characterization, I also doubt the “insult” part.
Highly doubt both.
5.56mm
When has anything McCain has done since at least 1990 made any sense? The man has long been known as an arrogant, nasty, deeply corrupt, selfish prick. A self-styled “maverick,” vicious, envious, grudge-holder whose only loyalty is to himself.
That’s going to be pretty much any bad news coming out of the administration.
Which is going to leave you untethered to reality when you’re just claiming all bad news is “fake” - unattributed sources are the name of the game.
We need to evaluate stories critically but not categorically ignore them.
This is the supposedly Mad Dog??
I find this story extremely difficult to believe.... it is the Hill... who has zero credibility to begin with.
He can be all the appalled he wants to be so long as he complies and does not “slow-walk.”
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