Last week U.S President Donald Trump tweeted that his government will stop[ transgender people to serve in the U.S Military because of the ‘tremendous medical costs’ associated:
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
It’s since been revealed that the military were completely blindsided by these tweets. In fact, the Army chief of staff, Gen. Mark Milley told reporters he found out about the supposed ban through the news while holding a glass of wine.
The Trump tweets sparked protest in the LGTB community, with thousands flocking to Times Square the same day holding signs saying ‘resist’.
There’s a protest in Times Square against Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military https://t.co/TikozgkMHa pic.twitter.com/k9QYPWYaiI
— Trudy (@RendezvousEnNY) July 27, 2017
The estimated 2,450 trans personnel serving in the military are left in fear of losing their jobs. But what is this ‘tremendous’ burden transgender people have on government expenditure? Are they really all that expensive to keep on the force?
If we look at the costs of gender transition-related health care, we’ll find it’s relatively low. According to a 2016 Rand report, the cost is between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually. Hardly ‘tremendous’ considering an analysis of Defence Health Agency data showed $84 million was spent on erectile dysfunction medicines in 2014. Viagra alone cost the government $41.6 million that year, five times the expenditure on trans-related health care.
The ‘disruptive’ costs transgender people pose on the military are also less than what was spent on Trump’s trips to Mar-A-Lago during his first 80 days as president. An estimate based on the 2016 Government Accountability Report calculated that these trips were likely to have cost taxpayers more than $20 million.
Trumps justification for the ban seems even more unreasonable when we look at the fact it cost $24 million to protect the Trump Tower from Election to Inauguration day, according to Police Commissioner James O’Neill.
[infogram id=”estimated_government_expenditure” prefix=”CDD” format=”interactive” title=”Estimated Government Expenditure”]Having unpacked government expenditure on Viagra, Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower Security, that $2.4 to $8.4 million on gender transition-related health care seems hardly threatening. This raises questions of Trumps true motive behind the potential ban.
