January 27, 2025 – US President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on January 27 that remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and target transgender troops.
Earlier on January 27, Pete Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, referred to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job.
One of the executive orders signed by Trump was titled eliminating “gender radicalism in the military,” which appeared to reference transgender troops. During his first term, Trump announced a ban on transgender troops serving in the military, but his administration only froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain. President Joe Biden overturned this decision when he took office in 2021.
About 1.3 million active personnel serve in the military, according to Department of Defense data. While transgender rights advocates estimate there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands. When Trump announced his first ban in 2017, he stated the military needed to focus on “decisive and overwhelming victory” without being burdened by the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of having transgender personnel.
Hegseth has promised major changes at the Pentagon, making the elimination of DEI from the military a top priority. The Air Force announced on January 26 that it will resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the US military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with Trump’s ban on DEI initiatives.
Hegseth was warmly greeted on the steps of the Pentagon by the top US military officer, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, whom Hegseth criticized in his latest book. Asked if he might fire Gen Brown, Hegseth joked that he was standing right next to him.
Reuters has previously reported the possibility of mass firings among top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly refused to rule out during his confirmation process. Hegseth referred to Fort Moore and Fort Liberty by their previous names, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, which were changed under former President Joe Biden as part of an effort to rechristen bases named for Confederate officers.
Much of Hegseth’s focus at the Pentagon could be internal to the military, including making good on Trump’s executive order to bring back troops discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Thousands of service members were removed from the military after the Pentagon made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in 2021.
Trump also signed an executive order mandating the development of an “American Iron Dome.” The short-range Iron Dome air defense system, built by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with US backing, intercepts rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza towards Israel. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars, and drones in midair. The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.
Any such effort would take years to implement in the United States.