Defense &
National Security
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Defense &
National Security
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Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce trans military ban
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to begin enforcing a ban on transgender troops serving openly in the military.
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The decision undermines two lower court decisions and hands a victory to an administration that has broadly sought to restrict transgender rights.
The Justice Department asked the justices in an emergency application last month to lift a Seattle-area federal judge’s nationwide injunction blocking the policy, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put forward following an executive order Trump issued days into his second term.
The justices paused the injunction until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rules on the Trump administration’s appeal and the high court has the chance to consider whether to hear the case.
The court’s three liberal justices publicly dissented.
The Trump administration’s policy states that transgender individuals cannot meet the “rigorous standards” needed to serve, and allowing their participation threatens military readiness and unit cohesion, an argument long used to keep marginalized groups, including Black and gay people and women, from serving in the military. A 2016 RAND Corp. study commissioned by the Pentagon found that allowing trans people to serve had no negative impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness.
In a joint statement, Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, groups representing the transgender service members challenging Trump’s ban, called Tuesday’s ruling “a devastating blow” to trans troops “who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense.”
“By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” the groups said.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:
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The National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. government’s electronic spy agency, is looking at cutting up to 2,000 civilian jobs as part of the Trump administration’s effort to greatly reduce the federal workforce. The NSA, which is within the Defense Department, must eliminate 8 percent of its civilian roles, or between 1,500 and 2,000 positions, by the end of the year, three people familiar with the plan told …
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday the Pentagon has not responded to his inquiries about last week’s Army helicopter that forced two commercial passenger jets landing at Reagan Washington National Airport to shift course. When Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked if he had any additional information from the Pentagon about the flyover, Duffy said, “I don’t. MacCallum noted she didn’t understand why …
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President Trump on Tuesday said the United States will “always” protect Canada militarily, even as he lamented about the cost of doing so. “We protect Canada militarily, and we always will — we’re not gonna, you know, that’s not a money thing — but we always will. But it’s not fair,” Trump said alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House. The meeting, the two’s first in-person face-to-face encounter since …
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President Trump said Tuesday that the Houthis have informed his administration they want to stop fighting, announcing that strikes on the rebel group have been called off. “We had some very good news last night. The Houthis have announced … or they announced to us at least that they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that. And will stop the bombings,” Trump said, alongside Canadian …
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Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat:
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- Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George will testify before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee at 10 a.m. tomorrow
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Noem defends plans to slice FEMA, DHS programs
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended President Trump’s immigration policies and plans for deep cuts at her agency in her first appearance before lawmakers since being confirmed. Noem, appearing before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, was grilled by House Democrats …
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Questions are making the rounds in Washington as President Trump says he’ll reopen Alcatraz, pay people to self-deport and threatens new tariffs on foreign-made films as part of his try-everything strategy to dealing with trade, immigration and crime. Click here to sign up
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Events in and around the defense world:
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- Heritage Foundation will hold a virtual discussion on the new report, “A Strategy to Revitalize the Defense Industrial Base for the 21st Century,” with Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), at 11 a.m.
- Hudson Institute will host a conversation on “What’s Happening in Minsk?” at 2:30 p.m.
- A House Armed Services subcommittee will hear from defense officials on “Nuclear Forces and Atomic Energy Defense Activities Programmatic Updates,” at 3 p.m.
- Another House Armed Services subpanel will hold a hearing on Air Force projection forces, aviation programs and capabilities, at 3:30 p.m.
- Politico will host a discussion on “Securing Europe: NATO Next Steps,” at 3:30 p.m.
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News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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- Ill-fated Gaza pier mission lacked sufficient training, equipment: IG (Military Times)
- VA secretary defends staffing cuts, contract cancellations in heated Senate hearing (Military.com)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now:
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President Trump is changing his tune on the economy, suggesting Americans should buy less and will probably pay more and bear the brunt of an uncertain … Read more
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President Trump hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Tuesday for their first in-person meeting since Carney’s election … Read more
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
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