Military.com reports that SecDef Jim Mattis is expected to forward his recommendations about transgender military service and recruitment to the President today.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' recommendations to President Donald Trump on the policy for transgender individuals in the military reportedly call for allowing them to continue to serve.
Mattis is also expected to recommend continuing to accept transgender recruits.
At a Pentagon briefing Thursday, Dana White, Mattis' top spokesperson, declined to discuss specifics of Mattis' recommendations but said they were based on his overall vision for improving the "lethality" of the force.
This is a complex issue, and the Secretary is taking his time to consider the information he's been given. It's an important issue, and again, he sees all of his decisions through the lens of lethality.
The Secretary will provide his recommendations to the president this week and the president will announce his decision.
--White
it will be up to the White House whether to discuss or release the recommendations which have taken center stage in the military since Trump caught the Pentagon by surprise last July by sending out a series of Tweets calling for the ban.
It is unclear what would happen if Trump rejected Mattis' reported recommendation and continued to press for a ban.
Trump's initial proposals triggered a series of lawsuits by advocacy groups and four federal district courts have now ruled that a ban would be unconstitutional. The courts also ordered that the recruitment of transgender individuals should resume on Jan. 1 and the military has complied.