Biden expected to lift ban on transgender people serving in military

The Pentagon.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Biden is expected to lift restrictions on transgender service members in the military as early as Monday, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

This would reverse a ban former President Donald Trump announced via tweet in 2017, which blindsided former Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Pentagon has said there are about 9,000 service members who identify as transgender, with independent estimates putting the number closer to 16,000, the Journal reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.