{"id":53538,"date":"2017-12-07T19:01:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T19:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/07\/trump-lawyers-request-delay-in-jan-1-transgender-deadline\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:39:48","slug":"trump-lawyers-request-delay-in-jan-1-transgender-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/12\/07\/trump-lawyers-request-delay-in-jan-1-transgender-deadline\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump lawyers request delay in Jan. 1 deadline for transgender military recruits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration has filed a last-minute appeal to delay transgender recruits from joining the military, despite recent federal court rulings that the Pentagon must be ready to receive new troops on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe military will not be adequately prepared to begin processing transgender applicants for military service by January 1, 2018, and requiring the military to do so may negatively impact military readiness,\u201d attorneys for President Donald Trump argued in a late Wednesday filing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon has been working to prepare to receive the new recruits by the Jan. 1 deadline, and has been ready to do so for months, advocates for transgender forces said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe administration is not telling the truth,\u201d said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a research center that works on gay, lesbian, and transgender causes. \u201cThe military had already done most of the work to lift the ban by the presidential transition, it\u2019s certainly ready to make the change now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palm Center estimates there are 12,800 transgender forces serving in the military and in recent weeks has gathered statements of support from former service secretaries that they be allowed to continue serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\t