WASHINGTON, D.C -- President Donald J. Trump announced today that the U.S. government will not allow so-called transgender people "to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." President Trump's announcement came just weeks after Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he will defer implementation of the transgender policy until January 1, 2018. The Obama-era policy would have allowed incoming service members identifying as "transgender" to enlist if they have been "stable" in their gender identity for 18 months.
"Transgender" service members have been able to serve openly in the military since last year, when former Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the ban. Since Oct. 1, transgender troops have been able to receive medical care and receive taxpayer-fund medical treatment that includes hormone therapy, counseling, and body mutilating plastic surgery.
