US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the US military in any capacity.
Announcing the decision via Twitter, he said that he consulted with his Generals and the military, and allowing transgender persons to serve would be too high a medical cost that the US cannot be burdened with.
While on the election trail, Trump had made promises to look after the LGBTQ community and their rights, and this decision comes as a direct blow to them.
The Pentagon ended its ban on openly transgender people serving in the US military in 2016 under Democratic President Barack Obama's administration. It was expected to start allowing transgender people to begin enlisting in 2017, provided they had been "stable" in their preferred gender for 18 months.
Last month, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved a six-month delay in allowing transgender recruits to join the US armed forces. The delay alarmed transgender advocates.
In 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter cited a study by the RAND Corporation think tank, saying there were about 2,500 transgender active-duty service members and 1,500 reserve transgender service members.
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