Transgender people will soon be enlisting in the armed forces again.
According to NBC, the policy of banning transgenders from military service is expected to be revoked by President Joe Biden during his next few weeks in office.
Former president Barack Obama had also removed a previous ban that prevented transgenders from joining the military in 2016. The ban was then reimplemented in 2017 by former president Donald Trump.
Retired army general Lloyd Austin, who is Biden’s secretary of defense nominee, agrees with Biden’s decision. “If you’re fit and you’re qualified to serve and you can maintain the standards, you should be allowed to serve and you can expect that I will support that throughout.”
Austin, who retired from military service in 2016, normally would have to spend seven years in retirement before being chosen for Secretary of Defense. However, Congress will vote on forgoing that particular stipulation, with the House expecting to carry out their proceedings Thursday.