Pentagon officials confirmed March 31 that the U.S. Department of Defense will be implementing President Joe Biden's executive order ending an effective ban on openly transgender service members that had been put in place by the Trump administration.
The news came on International Transgender Day of Visibility. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Biden had signed an executive order January 25 ending the ban shortly before the swearing in of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. "It shall be the policy of the United States to ensure that all transgender individuals who wish to serve in the United States military and can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination," the executive order stated.