Biden to repeal Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in military ‘imminently’
Announcement could come this week
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden is poised to repeal Donald Trump's ban on transgender people enlisting in the US military.
Mr Trump’s order went into effect in spring 2019, reversing a decision by Barack Obama, whose administration had said transgender people could openly serve.
Under the directive, currently-serving transgender individuals who have received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria could continue to serve in their preferred gender and undergo gender-affirming surgery.
However, it prevented people who had not fully undergone gender transition to enlist.
“I have great respect for the community. I think I have great support – or I've had great support from that community. I got a lot of votes,” said Mr Trump at the time. “But the transgender – the military is working on it now. They're doing the work. It's been a very difficult situation.”
Reuters reported that the new policy could be announced as early as Monday.
The White House did not respond to enquiries from The Independent, while the Pentagon directed questions back to the White House.
There are about 1.3 million active personnel serving in the US military, but no official figures on the number of trans members are available.
Mr Biden's plan to repeal the ban is supported by newly confirmed defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
‘If you’re fit and you’re qualified to serve and you can maintain the standards, you should be allowed to serve and you can expect that I will support that throughout,” Mr Austin said at his confirmation hearing.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments