Trump issues executive orders addressing DEI policies, covid expulsions, and transgender troops
Washington: On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders that target transgender troops, reinstate thousands of troops who were expelled for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination during the epidemic, and eliminate diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) from the military.
In his remarks to media as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job earlier Monday, Pete Hegseth, who barely won enough votes to become defense secretary, mentioned the names of Confederate generals who were formerly in charge of two important outposts.
While returning by plane from Miami to Washington, DC, Trump signed the executive orders.
According to one of Trump’s executive orders, expressing a “gender identity” distinct from
Basic questions such as whether transgender soldiers currently serving in the military would be permitted to remain and, if not, how they would be removed were not addressed by the directive, which prohibited the use of “invented” pronouns in the military.
Advocacy groups have harshly criticized Trump’s plans, claiming that his actions would be unlawful.
oshua Block of the AmericanJ Civil Liberties Union stated earlier on Monday that “President Trump has made clear that a key priority for his administration is driving transgender people back into the closet and out of public life altogether.”
Trump declared during his first administration that transgender soldiers would not be allowed to serve in the military. He didn’t completely adhere to that prohibition.
When Biden became president in 2025, he reversed the ruling.
According to figures from the Department of Defense, there are roughly 1.3 million active-duty military troops. Officials claim the figure is in the low hundreds, but proponents of transgender rights claim there are up to 15,000 transgender service members.
Trump claimed that the military needs to concentrate on achieving a “decisive and overwhelming victory” rather than being distracted by the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of having transgender people when he announced his first ban in 2025.
Internal concentration
Service academies would have to teach “that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history,” according to Trump’s executive order abolishing DEI in the military.
In order to assure compliance with Trump’s restriction on DEI projects, the US Air Force announced on Sunday that it would restart training trainees using a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black airmen in the US military, that has passed a review.
The senior US military official, Air Force General CQ Brown, whom Hegseth criticized in his most recent book, welcomed him cordially on the steps of the Pentagon. Hegseth joked that he was standing very close to Brown when he was asked if he might fire him.
“At this moment, I stand with him. He gave Brown a back pat and said, “I’m excited to work with him.”
Hegseth repeatedly declined to rule out mass firings among top commanders during his confirmation process, a prospect that has been covered by Reuters in the past.
In interviews with reporters, Hegseth called Fort Liberty and Fort Moore by their former designations, Fort Bragg and Fort Benning.
In an attempt to review US history and the Confederate heritage, former President Joe Biden replaced the names honoring Confederate officers.
Making good on Trump’s executive order to bring back troops dismissed for refusing Covid vaccines could be a major portion of Hegseth’s priority at the Pentagon.
US missile defense
An executive order that “mandated a process to develop an American Iron Dome” was also signed by Trump.
With US support, Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems constructed the short-range Iron Dome air defense system to stop missiles aimed at Israel.
Radar-guided missiles are fired by each truck-towed unit to destroy short-range threats including drones, mortars, and rockets in flight.
Any such effort would take years to implement in the United States. In a separate phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Trump emphasized the importance of India purchasing more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship. Trump later told reporters that they also spoke about the issue of immigration and that Modi will visit the US sometime in February. The White House previously stated that plans for a Modi visit were discussed by the two leaders. 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.
The leaders talked about deepening and increasing cooperation and challenges, such as security in the Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, in what the White House referred to as a “productive call.”
Indian and American diplomats are attempting to set up a meeting of the leaders as early as February, according to a Reuters story last week.
During his reelection campaign, Trump referred to India as a “very big abuser” of trade and pledged to put tariffs on international imports into the US to address imbalances. During the US president’s first term, Trump and Modi had a cordial relationship.
Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on the Brics group of countries, which includes India, if they do not agree to his demand that they refrain from issuing new currencies.
Trump “emphasised the importance of India increasing its procurement of American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship” during the discussion on Monday, according to a White House statement.
India’s biggest commercial partner is the United States, with two-way trade reaching over $118 billion in 2025–2025, with India reporting a $32 billion surplus.
In a social media post on Monday, Modi referred to Trump as a “dear friend” and stated that they were “committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership.” India is also a key strategic partner in US attempts to challenge China.
“We will collaborate for our people’s well-being and for world peace, prosperity, and security,” Modi declared.
According to the White House, Trump and Modi reaffirmed their support for the Quad alliance, which includes Australia, Japan, and the United States. Later this year, India will host the leaders of the Quad.
It seems likely that Modi will visit Washington shortly, and Trump will return the favor by attending the Quad meeting, according to Tanvi Madan, an expert on India at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“It is evident that the Trump administration has trade and immigration concerns in mind with regard to India,” she stated. India’s answer to Trump’s requests and the outcome of the larger discussion on those topics in Washington will both have an impact.
Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized a wish to “address concerns related to irregular migration” during a meeting with India’s foreign minister last week.
According to a Bloomberg News story last week, the US and India have identified some 18,000 Indian migrants who are in the country illegally. Trump has promised to take tough measures against illegal immigration.
India is renowned for its enormous pool of IT specialists, many of whom work worldwide, and Trump has stated that he is open to the legal transfer of qualified people. They make up the majority of the skilled worker H-1B visas that the US issues.
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