{"id":57341,"date":"2017-12-30T15:05:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-30T15:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/30\/trump-administration-accepts-jan-1-transgender-enlistment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:05:34","slug":"trump-administration-accepts-jan-1-transgender-enlistment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/12\/30\/trump-administration-accepts-jan-1-transgender-enlistment\/","title":{"rendered":"Transgender recruits can now enlist, as Pentagon and White House weigh overall policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nicolas Talbott spent the day after New Year\u2019s doing what he\u2019d said he would do if the courts allowed: taking the next steps to legally enlist in the military as a transgender service member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spoke with my recruiter today [Jan. 2] and am completing paperwork needed to enlist. I\u2019ve been working with this particular recruiter for the past year, and we are really excited to move forward with this process,\u201d said Talbott, 24. \u201cThis is a historic day for the military and for transgender Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration dropped its legal fight seeking to delay the Jan. 1 deadline for the Pentagon to accept transgender forces late Friday, Dec. 29. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration had been fighting in multiple lawsuits at the circuit court level to delay a previously established Jan. 1 deadline to allow transgender forces to enlist. In December it lost in three of the cases<\/a>, losses that would have required administration lawyers to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court before Monday in order to have any chance of staying the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement released Friday, the Justice Department said it was going to wait for a DoD study directed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on whether there would be any adverse affects to readiness caused by transgender troops enlisting and serving. Transgender forces already openly serve in the U.S. military. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather than litigate this interim appeal before that occurs, the administration has decided to wait for DoD\u2019s study and will continue to defend the president\u2019s and secretary of defense\u2019s lawful authority in district court in the meantime,\u201d the Justice Department said. <\/p>\n\n\n\t