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Donald Trump has said he will ban transgender people from serving in the military in any capacity.
In a report from the Washington Post, Trump took to social media Wednesday to make the announcement, writing the following on his Twitter:
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.
This is a reversal from the Obama administration decision that would have allowed transgender people to serve. The announcement comes after Trump's defense secretary, retired Gen. Jim Mattis, delayed the plan to accept transgender troops by six months, and a day before the military was supposed to update its medical standards to accommodate transgender service members.
Mattis had initially stated that the delay "in no way presupposes the outcome."
"Since becoming the Secretary of Defense, I have emphasized that the Department of Defense must measure each policy decision against one critical standard: will the decision affect the readiness and lethality of the force?" Mattis said last month in a statement. "Put another way, how will the decision affect the ability of America's military to defend the nation? It is against this standard that I provide the following guidance on the way forward in accessing transgender individuals into the Military Services."
Over 11,000 troops currently serving in the U.S. military are transgender, according to a Rand Corp. study that has been cited by the Defense Department.
Source: washingtonpost.com
