US President Donald Trump signed four executive orders concerning the army and the Department of Defense.
One of them eliminates the program of diversity, equity, and inclusion (diversity, equity, and inclusion, DEI) in the army, reports CNN. This program involves quotas for different minorities in the military.
In addition, Trump signed an executive order allowing all military personnel who were fired or discharged for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to return to service.
Another executive order deals with transgender people serving in the military, an authorization the Joe Biden administration signed in 2021.
At this point, the executive order does not explicitly ban service, but only suggests the formation of new rules regarding transgender people. These are to be drafted by new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has previously advocated for a ban on transgender people in the military.
The fourth executive order envisions the creation of the so-called Iron Shield, a new missile defense system in the United States.
