REPORT: Trump's U.S. military transgender ban is about 2018, says 'administration official'

In a series of tweets this morning, President Donald Trump announced a ban on transgendered individuals from serving the U.S. military in “any capacity”:

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

But Axios’ Jonathan Swan is reporting that the ban has more to do with politics and 2018 than it does with saving money or any disruption:

https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/890202683721863168

Editor’s note: Swan added this after publication:

https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/890210958622298113

And it’s not clear how today’s announcement affects the transgender members of the military on active duty or in the reserves:

Military estimates ~2.5k in active. This is the go to source: https://t.co/V5dpvd2tD3

— Paul MacDonald (@pkmacdonald) July 26, 2017

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FYI there are 2,500-7,000 transgender service members in the active duty military, another 1,500-4,000 in the reserves, per RAND. https://t.co/HdHT2qLFhi

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 26, 2017

The president and his daughter Ivanka have been vocal supporters of LGBT rights, so look for these old tweets to get a lot of play today:

Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016

I am proud to support my LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans who have made immense contributions to our society and economy.

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 2, 2017

And the media is already comparing the costs of transgender medical bills to Trump’s travel to Mar-a-Lago, because why not:

https://twitter.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/890203401874747392