Washington, D.C. (NBCNC) – President Trump announced Wednesday that transgender people will no longer be allowed to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.
President Trump tweeted that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve because “the U.S. 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.”
The decision is a complete reversal of President Obama’s policy established last year to allow transgender troops to serve openly.
Last month, defense secretary James Mattis announced the Pentagon would delay Obama’s order through the remainder of 2017 in order to review the impact of the shift.
A statement from Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis reads:
“We refer all questions about the President’s statements to the White House. We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving the military. We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.”
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