The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff Reports

Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:28 PM
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White House Defends President Trump's Decision To Ban Transgender Individual From Military Service
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders staunchly defended President Trump’s decision Wednesday to ban transgender people from serving in the military in "any capacity," a move that touched off a firestorm in Washington and beyond.

In her first, solo on-camera press briefing since she replaced Sean Spicer, Sanders faced a battery of questions on the president’s abrupt Twitter announcement earlier Wednesday morning. She said the decision was based on “consultation” with the president’s national security team and the Pentagon.

“This decision was made after extensive discussions with the national security team and it was in the military’s best interest to end this Obama policy,” Sanders said. “... This is a very expensive and disruptive policy and based on consultation with his national security team, it erodes military readiness and unit cohesion, and he made the decision based on that.”