Donald Trump in the Rose Garden at the White House July 25, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
President Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that the United States will not “allow or accept” any transgender person to serve in the military "in any capacity."
Trump said he made the announcement after consulting with “generals and military experts” on the policy. “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,” he tweeted.
The new policy rolls back the Obama administration-era rules made in 2016 loosening restrictions on transgender people's right to serve. The independent Rand Corporation estimated in 2016 that 2,450 of the 1.2 million active-duty service members are transgender.
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 move is the Trump administration's latest attack on the rights of transgender people. In February a piece of federal guidance requiring transgender students to have unfettered access to bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity was withdrawn by the President.