President Trump announced Wednesday that he would end service by transgender people in the military, opening up a culture battle that caught much of Washington by surprise.
Trump made the announcement after House conservatives pushed the White House to curb Pentagon funding for transition-related medical care and indicated they may not support the spending bill currently on the floor over the issue.
But Trump went much further, and decision-makers on Capitol Hill, including the Armed Services committees, were out of the loop.
President Trump’s unexpected announcement Wednesday that the military would no longer accept transgender service members left many in the administration wondering why he had suddenly arrived at such a conclusion and how he planned to implement such a consequential policy.
