In three tweets, Trump bans trans people from military service

It is a sudden reversal of the policies put in place by Barack Obama.
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 
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On Wednesday morning President Trump fired off a bombshell of a tweet, leaving the world in suspense for a few painful moments as he prepped for an announcement.

Trump explained after consulting with his "Generals and military experts" the United States Government "would not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."

In a third tweet the president said the military's victory "cannot be burdened" with medical costs transgender military members would require.

Back in 2016 under Obama's presidency it was announced that the Pentagon planned to repeal its ban on transgender members on July 1, however, a year later military leaders submitted a request asking that the process be delayed for six months. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved the delay.

Shortly after Trump's tweets CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller shared that the Pentagon was "caught by surprise" by the news.

During Trump's campaign he pledged his support for the members of the LGBTQ community, tweeting that he would fight for their freedoms and beliefs. However, the president has recently come under fire in the community for neglecting to follow through on this promise and failing to declare June National Pride Month.

The U.S. Department of Defense's current transgender policy states that "transgender service members may serve openly, and they can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military solely for being transgender individuals." The website also describes that the policies "will be implemented in stages over the next 12 months."

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, there are currently an estimated 134,000 transgender veterans in America, and over 15,000 transgender people serve today.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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