Pentagon to begin accepting transgender troops Jan 1. after court order

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will begin accepting transgender troops Jan. 1, 2018, complying with a federal court order that overrules President Trump’s pledge to ban them from the military.

The White House and Pentagon confirmed Monday that the military will put in place policies that permit the services to accept new recruits. Those plans had been formulated under the Obama administration, which had scheduled them to take effect July 1. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Pentagon would comply with federal court orders to accept new transgender troops.

“As of right now, they’re simply complying with a court order and preparing to implement a previous policy to remain in compliance," Sanders said. "The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the legal options to ensure that the president’s directive can be implemented.” 

The Defense Department delayed the implementation of the Obama-era plan, and Trump tweeted in late July that he wanted to ban transgender troops from serving. Those actions have triggered court challenges by advocates for transgender troops, and courts have generally sided with them.


The Pentagon, in a statement Monday, acknowledged that it would comply with an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to implement policy on accepting transgender troops announced last year by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter. 

The Pentagon "and the Department of Justice are actively pursuing relief from those court orders in order to allow an ongoing policy review scheduled to be completed before the end of March," according to the statement.

"The Department of Defense will begin processing transgender applicants for military service on January 1, 2018, as mandated by recent court order," said Army Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman. At the same time, the Department of Justice is actively seeking relief from those orders."