Pentagon says will hire transgenders

Washington: Transgender recruits will be allowed to enlist in the military beginning January 1, the Pentagon said, as President Donald Trump’s ordered ban suffered more legal setbacks. The new policy divulged on Tuesday reflects difficult hurdles the federal government would have to cross to enforce Mr Trump’s demand earlier this year to bar transgender individuals from the military.

Three federal courts have ruled against the ban, including one on Tuesday in Washington state. In October, US district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly barred the Trump administration from proceeding with its plan to exclude transgender people from military service.