President Donald Trump rolled out a second slate of executive orders on Monday that moves the military closer to a ban on transgender service members, cuts DEI programs and training and reinstates service members previously discharged for their refusal to get COVID vaccines.

The executive order on trans service members redefines what the Trump administration calls the military mission and charges the secretary of defense to update the Defense Department’s policies, ensuring they “establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity and integrity,” which the administration believes to be inconsistent with “medical, surgical and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.”

Additionally, the order mandates that the secretary of defense issue directives to “end invented and identification-based pronoun usage.”

“Adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the executive order reads.

The order included a sentence singling out trans women, depicting them as men and accusing them of subverting “the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” It echoed the way Republican lawmakers routinely target transgender women and girls within anti-trans policy, even when that policy affects all trans people.

The text states that the Armed Forces will not allow men or women to use or share sleeping, changing or bathing facilities that are designated for the opposite sex. 

Should Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth institute a ban against transgender service members, it could result in thousands of people leaving the military, the largest employer in the nation, and it would become one of the largest layoffs of transgender people in history. Up to 8,000 service members will be affected, according to a study released by the National Institutes of Health in 2020.

The executive order on DEI policies in the military calls for the “elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination” in the Armed Forces by removing all DEI offices, programs and initiatives, including those that “perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination” and “promote divisive concepts or gender ideology.” United States Service Academies and other defense academic institutions will be required to teach that America and its founding documents “remain the most powerful force for good in human history.”

“In recent years, civilian and uniformed leadership alike have implemented diversity, equity and inclusion programs and their attendant race and sex preferences within the Armed Forces,” the text reads. “These actions undermine leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness.”

The executive orders are the next step in the Trump administration’s plan to target transgender rights and broader diversity policies. Last week Trump revoked a 2021 executive order signed by former President Joe Biden that had allowed transgender service members to serve. It was one of 78 previous executive orders the president revoked, many of them enforcing DEI policies and initiatives.

Last week’s executive orders also called for the removal of DEI positions, initiatives and training across the federal government. In a memo released to federal agencies by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), leadership was directed to place federal employees in DEI offices and positions on paid leave and cancel DEI-related training by the end of the week.

In efforts to comply with the Trump administration’s orders, the Air Force hurriedly removed basic military training featuring the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) because it was included in DEI coursework. Known as the “Red Tails,” the Tuskegee Airmen were the first troop of Black pilots to serve in the military. On Monday, the Air Force told USA Today that it will resume showing the training course, as it cleared compliance review.

Trump’s recent crackdown on DEI policies in the military also reflects a GOP talking point during the Biden administration — that these initiatives are “woke” and are hurting the military’s recruitment. 

During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth mentioned the military’s recruiting crisis, asserting that “woke ideology” is a factor in the plateau of members serving. In a previous podcast interview, Hegseth claimed that “America’s White sons and daughters” are not serving in the military due to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In 2023, the Army, Air Force and Navy fell short on their recruitment goals. Last year, recruitment rose by 12.5 percent despite previous struggles.

The executive order on service members who refused COVID vaccinations reinstates them to their original positions and provides them with full back pay, benefits, bonus payments and compensation. 

“The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad and completely unnecessary burden on our service members,” the order says.

Any service member that provides a written and sworn statement that they left the service because they refused vaccination can also return to service without any impact on their status, rank or pay.

Biden rescinded his administration’s military COVID vaccination mandate in 2022 with bipartisan support. Before his reversal, more than 8,000 service members were discharged for their refusal to get vaccinated. While supporters noted safety as the mandate’s primary motive, pushback included religious concerns. Other opponents of the mandate believed that it was contributing to the military’s struggles with recruitment.