The Trump administration will unveil a
new policy on transgender people serving in the military on February
21.
According to BuzzFeed
News, the change was revealed in documents filed before a
federal judge reviewing President Donald Trump's ban on transgender
troops.
After Trump directed the Pentagon to
bar transgender people from serving in the military, human rights
groups filed four lawsuits. One ruling required the Pentagon to
allow transgender people to enlist in the military starting January
1.
U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis, who
is hearing one of the cases filed in Maryland, requested information
from the government in the case. In an order released Tuesday,
Garbis said that the government said that it could not comply with
the request because “they will not be defending the policy now at
issue but will be defending the policy to be disclosed on February
21, 2018.”
Trump had asked Defense Secretary James
Mattis to submit a plan for implementation of his ban by February 21.
Maj. David Eastburn, a spokesman for
the Department of Defense, told BuzzFeed that Mattis is
expected to present recommendations to the president, but that Trump
would make the final decision.
“The panel that was established by
the secretary of Defense is presenting their recommendations to him,”
Eastburn said. “At the end of this month, the secretary will make
his recommendations to the president, who will then make a decision
and establish the new policy on transgender [service] in the
military.”
Earlier this month, the Republican
National Committee (RNC) approved a resolution in support of Trump's
ban.
(Related: RNC
backs Trump's ban on transgender troops.)