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AFP
Washington
Transgender individuals wishing to enlist in the US military are now free to openly do so, despite efforts by President Donald Trump to bar transgender personnel from serving"in any capacity."
As of January 1, the Pentagon is allowing transgender people to sign up, providing they meet certain medical criteria.
The milestone is the latest in a string of setbacks for Trump's ban, which he announced via Twitter last July, citing"tremendous" medical costs and disruption to the military.
Lawsuits playing out in four federal courts have resulted in rulings against the ban, putting its implementation on hold with judges saying it is likely unconstitutional.
Under a new policy first announced when Barack Obama was in power, the Pentagon was supposed to start accepting transgender recruits on July 1, 2017 but Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis pushed that back by six months to January 1, pending further review.
Last week, the Department of Justice said it would not ask the Supreme Court to prevent transgender people from entering the military, meaning the January 1 date went into effect.
