Trump expected to sign executive orders to reshape military including ban on transgender troops, reports say – live | Trump administration
Trump to sign executive order banning transgender troops – report
Donald Trump is expected to sign three executive orders on Monday that would reshape the military, including banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces, CNN reports.
The orders will also include gutting the military’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and reinstating service members with backpay who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated from Covid-19, two White House officials told the outlet.
Key events
Robert Tait
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into whether there should be a radical shake-up of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) after saying he supported its abolition.
In a new executive order, the returning president appointed a review council to examine the workings of the agency, which he accused of political bias and of denying aid to his supporters.
“Despite obligating nearly $30bn in disaster aid each of the past three years, Fema has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” the order stated, adding: “There are serious concerns of political bias in Fema.”
The order also accused the agency of going beyond its remit by spending more than $1bn “to welcome illegal aliens”, although it did not provide evidence.
The review council will consist of “no more than 20 members” and will included the new secretaries of defense and homeland security, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem, respectively.
Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday that would begin the process of creating a “next-generation” missile defense shield for the US, CNN reports.
The order would call for the creation of an “iron dome” for the US, referring to Israel’s missile-shield system designed to intercept short-range launches.
The outlet reports that:
The executive order directs implementation of a next generation missile-defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles and other next-generation aerial attacks.
Trump has previously promised to build an “impenetrable dome” over the US to “protect our people”.
We reported earlier that nearly all Senate Democrats signed on to a resolution condemning Donald Trump’s decision to pardon January 6 defendants who assaulted police officers.
John Fetterman, the Democratic senator for Pennsylvania, has now signed the resolution, Politico reports.
Fetterman was not on an initial version of the resolution circulated this morning, but a spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that he supports the effort.
Florida Republicans rebuke DeSantis over immigration
Richard Luscombe
Republicans in the Florida legislature delivered a significant snub to Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday by abruptly halting his proposals for a crackdown on immigration in the state.
DeSantis had summoned lawmakers to a “special legislative session” in Tallahassee on Monday morning aimed at aligning state laws to the hardline measures coming out of the White House.
The governor’s goals included making it a state crime for undocumented migrants to enter Florida; pressuring local authorities to join in a deportation purge, and punishing those who do not; and appointing a dedicated state “immigration officer” to liaise with the Trump administration under his personal authority.
The special session had Trump’s blessing, with the president posting to Truth Social this month he hoped more governors would follow DeSantis’s lead.
But in an action on Monday morning that local media outlets called variously a kneecapping of DeSantis, and an extension of a civil war between the governor and legislature over who has control of Florida’s immigration policies, Republican lawmakers in both the state House and Senate immediately “gaveled” out the sessions as soon as they had begun – to press ahead with their own proposals.
According to NBC News, their act “effectively killed all the legislation already filed by DeSantis’s allies… [and] puts the governor in a tricky position”.
For example, under the lawmakers’ bill, there would still be a state immigration officer, the agriculture commissioner Wilton Simpson, a possible DeSantis successor, but he would report to the legislature, and not to the governor.
As the NBC report explains it, assuming the bill passes, DeSantis must either sign a measure that “kneecaps” his authority over immigration enforcement in Florida, or veto a bill including many hardline immigration actions supported by the Trump administration.
“Sometimes leadership isn’t about being out in front of an issue. It’s about following the leader you trust. I trust President Trump,” saidthe Florida Senate president, Ben Albritton, according to the Miami Herald.
The air force has resumed using training material that referred to the Tuskegee Airmen after the Trump administration’s rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives caused an internal review.
Following Trump’s executive order last week, the air force suspended course instruction on a documentary about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black airmen in the US military.
The famed Black aviators included 450 pilots who fought overseas in segregated units during the second world war. Their success in combat helped pave the way for Harry Truman’s decision to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.
Another video about civilian female pilots trained by the US military during the second world war, known as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or Wasps, was also pulled.
The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said in a post on X on Sunday that any move to cut the training was “immediately reversed”.
The air force later said that “no airmen or guardians will miss this block of instruction due to the revision, however one group of trainees had the training delayed. That block of training was pulled in order to take out DEI material on January 23 and will continue again as of Monday,” Associated Press reported.
Edward Helmore
The escalating federal law enforcement actions against undocumented immigrants has set up what could be a showdown between state and local officials in so-called “sanctuary cities” such as Chicago and Denver.
Under “sanctuary” laws, local law enforcement is prohibited from co-operating with federal deportation actions. The border czar Tom Homan has warned Democratic-controlled cities not to interfere with the actions.
“If you don’t, get the hell out of the way,” he said in a speech to Republicans last year.
In an interview on Sunday, the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, said he intended to cooperate with efforts to deport those accused of or convicted of violent crimes, but would also enforce Illinois’ own “sanctuary state” laws.
“We’re going to follow the law in Illinois,” Pritzker told CNN. “We expect them to do the same, and I’m very afraid they will not follow the law”.
Illinois’ senators, the Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, also issued a statement warning that the administration’s deportation efforts was likely to go beyond deporting criminals and instead sweep in veterans, essential workers and other people without criminal records.
“We can all agree we that [we] must remove dangerous individuals who are here illegally. But the actions being taken by the Trump admin go beyond those goals,” the senators said, adding that they stood with immigrant communities and their offices “are ready to help those improperly caught up in these raids”.
Edward Helmore
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) also said it made arrests outside a Home Depot in Tucson, Arizona, and in neighborhoods with Dominican immigrants in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In Denver, Colorado, federal agents reportedly arrested 41 people, including four said to be members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, at a “makeshift nightclub” early on Sunday morning.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told CBS that the immigration status of all the arrestees was “questionable” and that they had seized drugs, weapons and cash. The detainees were handed over to Ice, according to Steffan Tubbs of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain division.
The focus on Tren de Aragua, or TdA, comes after Donald Trump made several apartment blocks in neighboring Aurora said to have been taken over by the gang a focal point for his anti-illegal immigration campaign message. Aurora city officials said last week they were seeking to close down a sixth apartment building due to gang activity.
Meanwhile, Navajo Nation leaders have reportedly expressed concern over reports that Indigenous people belonging to their tribe as well as others had been detained in immigration sweeps in and around Phoenix. And the mayor of San Jose, California, confirmed Ice agents were conducting targeted actions there.
Edward Helmore
The TV personality Dr Phil joined the US border czar, Tom Homan, in an immigration raid in Chicago, one of several conducted in US cities over the weekend.
Homan claimed the choreographed raid was only “the beginning stages” of Donald Trump’s promised threat to deport millions of people from the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) said it had made 956 arrests on Sunday, bringing the total since Trump took office to 2,681 arrests – short of the 1,200 to 1,500 daily arrests that Trump has reportedly demanded.
In Chicago, where Ice confirmed it was conducting “enhanced targeted operations”, Dr Phil – the American TV mental health personality whose full name is Phil McGraw – joined an arrest operation with Homan.
In a post on X, Dr Phil claimed Ice aimed to pick 270 “high-value targets” and said the agents were “not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply”.
A justice department official claimed that the first arrest observed by the US acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, who also joined Homan’s publicity event, involved an person living illegally in the US who had “killed a 19-year-old woman while driving under the influence”.
Senate Democrats condemn Trump’s January 6 pardons
All Democratic senators but one – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – signed a resolution on Monday condemning Donald Trump’s decision to pardon people who were found guilty of assaulting police officers in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The one-line resolution indicates that “the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol police officers”.
Fetterman was the lone Democrat to not sign the resolution. Democrats are expected to bring the measure to the floor this week but given Republican’s majority, it will probably fail.
Trump, during his first day in office last week, issued “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons for about 1,500 people who were involved in the January 6 attack on Congress, including some convicted of violent acts.
Note: Fetterman’s spokesperson has since confirmed that he supports the resolution.
Pete Hegseth, on his first day as defense secretary, said the government would provide “whatever” assistance is required at the US southern border.
“Whatever is needed at the border will be provided,” he told reporters.
“Whether that is through state active duty, title 32 or title ten, because we are reorienting – this is a shift.”
Hegseth was speaking to journalists outside the Pentagon where he was jointed by the top US military officer, Air Force Gen CQ Brown.
Asked if he might fire Brown, Hegseth joked that he was standing right next to him.
“I’m standing with him right now. I look forward to working with him,” as he patted Brown on the back.
As we reported earlier, Hegseth also said that Donald Trump will soon sign executive orders removing diversity, equity and inclusion from the military and reinstating thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing Covid-19 vaccines.
Donald Trump had banned transgender people from serving in the US military during his first term – a policy that was reversed under Joe Biden.
Hours after being sworn into his second term last week, Trump signed an order revoking the Biden administration’s rule allowing transgender people to openly serve in the military.
The order did not have immediate effect for transgender troops currently serving, the Military Times reports.
This latest order would go further than last week’s action, according to CNN, outlining new military standards regarding gender pronouns and stating that mental and physical readiness requires transgender service members be banned.
A Trump White House official, citing a fact sheet regarding the executive order, told the outlet:
It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements.
Hegseth confirms Trump will soon sign orders removing DEI programs from military
The reported executive orders come after Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, was sworn in as defense secretary on Saturday.
Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon for his first full day of work on Monday where he was warmly greeted by the top US military officer, air force Gen Charles Q Brown, Reuters reports.
Speaking to reporters, Hegseth said Trump will soon sign orders removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from the military and reinstating thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing Covid-19 vaccines.
“There are more executive orders coming,” he said.
Trump to sign executive order banning transgender troops – report
Donald Trump is expected to sign three executive orders on Monday that would reshape the military, including banning transgender service members from serving in the US armed forces, CNN reports.
The orders will also include gutting the military’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and reinstating service members with backpay who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated from Covid-19, two White House officials told the outlet.
Lauren Aratani
Over the weekend, the Senate voted to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration during his second presidency.
Republicans unanimously voted to confirm Noem and got support from seven Democrats, including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Gary Peters of Michigan, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Margaret Hassan of New Hampshire and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. The final vote was 59-34.
Noem, who held her state’s lone House seat for eight years before becoming governor in 2019, has risen in the Republican party by tacking closely with Trump. At one point, she was even under consideration to be his running mate.
Her political stock took a momentary dip, however, when she released a book last year containing an account of her killing her hunting dog, as well as a false claim that she once met with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Noem does not have any experience in law enforcement but has pledged to faithfully execute the president’s orders and copied his talk of an “invasion” at the US border with Mexico.
On Friday night, defense secretary Pete Hegseth was also confirmed in a dramatic tie-breaking Senate vote by JD Vance, joining the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the CIA director, John Ratcliffe.
