Social, military policy scholar can discuss Trump tweets on reinstating transgender ban

LAWRENCE — President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that he would bar transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, which would reverse a policy shift initiated in 2016 under the Obama administration and still under review.

Trump's tweets suggested he made the decision to avoid burdening the military with medical costs or "disruption" that the policy change would entail. National news reports have pointed to a Pentagon-commissioned report that found the policy shift would have little to no effect and negligible costs on military cohesion and readiness.

A University of Kansas researcher who studies military and transgender policy is available to discuss the implications of Trump's decision to reverse course.

Don Haider-Markel, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, co-edited the book "Transgender Rights and Politics: Groups, Issue Framing & Policy Adoption." C-SPAN's Book TV in a 2015 segment featured the research. His scholarship and teaching focuses on the representation of interests in the policy process and the dynamics between public opinion, political behavior and public policy. He also is part of a research group that is examining a wide variety of research on transgender politics, policy and American public opinion, including how voters view transgender political candidates and other policies.

Haider-Markel has more than 20 years of experience in survey research, interviews and in policy studies. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 journal articles, more than a dozen book chapters and several books in a range of issue areas, including civil rights, race and inequality, religion and the culture wars, criminal justice policy, counterterrorism and environmental policy.

To arrange an interview with Haider-Markel, contact George Diepenbrock at 785-864-8853 or gdiepenbrock@ku.edu.