Utah governor says state will help transgender National Guard members if federal ban is upheld

A reporter asked Governor Katz about President Trump’s directive encouraging transgender members of the Utah National Guard to remove themselves from the force and about a court order that has temporarily blocked that ban.

Governor Katz said the state will monitor the litigation and expressed support for the service members. “We—we'll be watching this very closely. It's a very, very small number, and, and we we care about them,” Katz said. He added, “We we care about everyone in this state. I'm grateful for anyone who's willing to put on a a uniform to defend our country. And so I'm I'm grateful for their work.”

Katz said the ultimate outcome will be decided by the courts and described a contingency plan if the courts uphold the federal policy. “If the court rules in in favor of of president Trump's policy, then we'll do everything possible to help them transition to other work,” Katz said. He later added that “we've got a system set up to do that. We'll, we we want to do this as compassionately as possible and, and help people who, help those people who may need to find another job if, if that order goes through.”

The remarks did not specify how many Utah National Guard members are affected, which court issued the temporary block or the specific services the state’s transition system will provide. No formal state action was announced during the exchange; Katz framed the state response as contingent on the court’s final decision and described staff readiness to assist affected service members.

The question posed to Katz noted that a court had blocked the ban at the time of the exchange; Katz repeatedly framed the matter as one the judiciary will resolve and said the state would implement support measures only if the federal policy is upheld.