The White House is expected to send guidance to the Pentagon in coming days on how to implement a new administration ban on transgender people in the military, issuing a policy that will allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to consider a service member’s ability to deploy in deciding whether to kick them out of the military.
The White House memo also directs the Pentagon to deny admittance to transgender individuals and to stop spending on medical treatment regimens for those currently serving, according to U.S. officials familiar with the document.
The memo gives Mr. Mattis six months to prepare to fully implement the new ban, according to these officials. Mr. Mattis under the new policy is expected to consider deployability, the ability to serve in a war zone, participate in exercises or live for months on a ship, as the primary legal means to decide whether to separate service members from the military, the officials said.
The new policy was announced by Donald Trump in a series of tweets last July, which effectively reinstated a ban on open transgender service that had been lifted the year before, under former President Barack Obama.
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