UPDATE 7/27/2017: The U.S. will continue to permit transgender individuals to serve openly in the military until Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has received President Donald Trump’s “direction” to change the policy and figure out how to implement it, the nation’s top military officer said Thursday.
President Trump tweeted Wednesday that the U.S. government will not allow transgender individuals “to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.”
In a series of tweets, he wrote:
“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. Thank you.”