Trump To Kick Transgender Troops From Military As Pete Hegseth’s Cabinet Nomination In Doubt: Live Updates
NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsPresident-elect planning to reinstate ban on trans soldiers as nominees Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr facing questions about past statements
Republican senator claims woman in Pete Hegseth sex assault allegation ‘was the aggressor’
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Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would remove transgender service members from the US military as soon as his first day in office.
The president-elect is reportedly preparing to issue an order following his inauguration on January 20 that would effectively ban trans people from serving – and then medically discharge the thousands of currently serving trans service members of the armed forces.
Trump declared that the US would no longer “accept or allow” trans people in the military during his first term, citing “tremendous medical costs and disruption” and the ban took effect in 2019 but was reversed by Joe Biden.
Trump is now understood to be planning to reinstate it.
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth, his controversial nominee for defense secretary, is facing further questions about his suitability for the role given his past comments about America’s international allies, with quotes from the former Fox weekend anchor’s recent book American Crusade circulating in which he criticizes Nato and the UN and argues US troops should not be bound by the Geneva conventions.
Other Trump nominees likewise expected to face rocky confirmation hearings before the Senate include Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Watch: Biden pardons Thanksgiving turkeys at the White HousePeach and Blossom were the names of the lucky fowls given a late November reprieve.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 16:50
Megyn Kelly takes swipe at Hegseth not being marriage material while defending him from sexual assault allegationsSpeaking of Trump’s preferred defense secretary, here’s Katie Hawkinson with some rather odd criticism of him in the process of trying to brush aside the sexual assault allegation raised against him by woman he met at a conservative conference in Monterey, California, in 2017.
Hegseth has denied wrongdoing in the case.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 16:40
Pete Hegseth under scrutiny over past statements about international alliesPete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, is facing questions about his suitability about the role given his past comments about America’s international allies, The Guardian reports, citing quotes from a book by the former Fox weekend man criticising Nato and the UN and expressing his belief contention that US troops should not be bound by the Geneva conventions.
“Why do we fund the anti-American UN?” Hegseth asks in his 2020 book American Crusade.
“Why is Islamist Turkey a member of Nato?”
Of the North Atlantic military alliance, he writes: “Nato is not an alliance; it’s a defense arrangement for Europe, paid for and underwritten by the United States.
He continues: “Europe has already allowed itself to be invaded. It chose not to rebuild its militaries, happily suckling off the teat of America’s willingness to actually fight and win wars.
“The defense of Europe is not our problem; been there, done that, twice.
“Nato is a relic and should be scrapped and remade in order for freedom to be truly defended. This is what Trump is fighting for.”
Meanwhile, here’s some new polling from Reuters/Ipsos revealing that 72 percent of the US public disagree with him on the question of female soldiers being deployed in combat roles.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 16:20
America’s first trans member of Congress isn’t taking the rage baitWith Republicans determined to make her arrival in Washington DC a spectacle, Sarah McBride is calmly shutting down their provocations as a “distraction” from their agenda.
America’s first openly transgender member of Congress has been far from the most vocal of candidates on the Democratic side since the party’s disastrous Election Day but the incoming representative from Delaware nevertheless finds herself in the center of the House GOP’s crosshairs.
And she isn’t taking the rage bait.
Here’s John Bowden’s profile.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 16:00
Why Trump’s most radical cabinet pick might be a man you’ve never heard ofThe incoming president has made a series of wild selections to run his key government departments, writes Alan Rusbridger.
Matt Gaetz may have crashed and burned in his bid to become attorney general, but there are plenty of others who will offer Trump both loyalty and extreme ideologies.
The first rule of a Trump government: there are no rulesThe incoming president has made a series of wild selections to run his key government departments, writes Alan Rusbridger. Matt Gaetz may have crashed and burned in his bid to become attorney general, but there are plenty of others who will offer Trump both loyalty and extreme ideologies
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 15:40
Joe Rogan accused of pushing Russian propaganda by Ukrainian boxer Wladimir KlitschkoKlitschko has hit out at the influential American podcaster over his recent interview with music producer Scott Storch, which saw the duo slam President Biden’s decision last week to allow Volodymyr Zelensky to use American-made long-range missiles against Russia.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 15:20
Trump’s counter-terror pick Sebastian Gorka labeled a ‘conman’The president-elect’s former national security adviser John Bolton did not hold back on the subject of Trump’s pick for counter-terrorism director when he appeared on CNN over the weekend.
“Sebastian Gorka is a con man,” Bolton told host Kaitlan Collins.
“He needs a full-field FBI background investigation about his educational claims and things like that.
“I think he is a perfect example of somebody who owes his position purely to Donald Trump, he doesn’t display loyalty, he displays fealty, and that’s what Trump wants.”
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 15:00
Elon Musk and Don Jr suggest buying MSNBCThe tech billionaire and Trump’s eldest son have been revelling in the idea of the former (seemingly now resident at Mar-a-Lago) buying up the liberal network and using it to parp out MAGA propaganda.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 14:40
Watch: Debbie Dingell warns Democrats against constant Trump ‘tizzies’Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 14:20
Republican senator slams Trump’s ‘illegal’ and ‘terrible’ plan to use military for mass deportationsKentucky Senator Rand Paul has said he would break ranks and not support Trump’s “terrible” plans to use the military to carry out mass deportations.
Paul told CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday that he supports the president-elect’s plans to deport “the 15,000 murderers and 13,000 sexual assault perpetrators” but only through the “normal process of domestic policing.”
By contrast, Trump’s idea to use the military for mass deportations is “illegal” and would create a “terrible image,” he said.
“I will not support and will not vote to use the military in our cities. I think it’s a terrible image.
“I’m 100 percent supportive of going after the 15,000 murderers, the 13,000 sexual assault perpetrators, rapists, all these people,” Paul said. “But you don’t do it with the army because it’s illegal.”
Rhian Lubin has more.
Joe Sommerlad25 November 2024 14:00
