President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed an Obama administration policy, saying he would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the U.S. military in any capacity.
"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," Trump wrote on Twitter.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
The Pentagon ended its ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. military in 2016 under President Barack Obama. It was expected to start allowing transgender people to begin enlisting this year, provided they had been "stable" in their preferred gender for 18 months.
Last month, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved a six-month delay in allowing transgender recruits to join the U.S. armed forces.
A study by the RAND Corporation think tank indicates there are about 2,500 transgender active-duty service members and 1,500 reserve transgender service members.
Reuters reporting contributed to this story.
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