WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that the U.S. military would not allow transgender troops to serve, citing the "tremendous medical costs and disruption."
In a series of tweets, Trump tweeted that the U.S. government "will not accept transgender individuals to serve in the military in any capacity."
The president said that the military "must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory" and allowing transgender individuals would cause "tremendous medical costs and disruption."
A Rand Corporation study of the issue last year estimated that there were about 4,000 transgender people serving in the military.
The study found that transition-related treatment could costs the military anywhere from $2.4 million to $8.4 million, which would range from 0.038 percent to 0.134 percent of the Military Health System, based on expenditures from fiscal year 2014 for the Unified Medical Program.
The decision comes after an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have prevented the Pentagon from paying for hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery was defeated last week.
Trump's announcement also comes after Defense Secretary James Mattis announced he would allow military chiefs to delay enlistment of transgender individuals by six months, the Military Times reported.
The move is a reversal of a policy of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who announced last year that transgender individuals would be allowed to serve in the military.
The new policy is to be implemented by the beginning of the month.
