Both the Wall Street Journal and NBC News are reporting this evening that top Pentagon officials — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — are set to announce that they are certifying that the military is ready to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a requirement before repeal under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act signed into law in Dec 2010.
Top defense officials plan to certify Friday that the Pentagon is ready to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, officials said, a landmark moment after almost two decades of controversy.
Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth following reports that transgender service members forced out of the military under President Donald Trump's ban have not received separation pay they are owed.
Trump implemented a more limited ban during his first term, generally requiring transgender troops to serve according to their assigned sex at birth and barring medical transition. The policy exempted certain service members already serving openly or diagnosed with gender dysphoria before it took effect.
But after returning to office last year, Trump issued an executive order aimed at removing nearly all transgender personnel from the military, reinforcing a separate order refusing to recognize transgender identity as valid.
