The Biden administration is expected to repeal the ban on transgender Americans of serving in the military, several people informed of the decision told CBS News. The announcement is expected as early as Monday, a senior Defense official and four outside advocates told CBS News of the repeal of the ban.
The senior Defense official told CBS News that the revocation will be through an executive order signed by President Joe Biden. The announcement is expected to take place at a ceremony with newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who will order the Pentagon to return to the policy enacted in 2016 by former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, which allowed transgender Americans to serve openly.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new order will direct the military branches to outline an implementation plan.
The ban was announced by former President Trump via a tweet in July 2017. The ban went into effect in April 2019 and banned transgender Americans from joining the military.
In 2014, it was estimated that there were about 15,500 transgender military serving, according to a study by the Williams Institute of UCLA Law School.
Biden frequently repeated on the campaign track his promise to repeal the ban.
Austin said at his confirmation hearing in the Senate last week that he planned to repeal the ban.
“I support the president’s plan or plan to overturn the ban,” Austin said Tuesday in a question from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: “I truly believe, Senator, that, as I said in my initial statement, that if you are fit and you You have the qualifications to serve and you can maintain the standards, you have to be allowed to serve.
Fin Gómez contributed to this report.