With Biden now in office for just two weeks, he has already made many of the changes that he said he was going to make during his campaign. One of those very important changes is to reverse the ban on transgender soldiers serving in the military- a ban that our former President Donald Trump set in place.

Trump made this decision because he didn’t want the government to be responsible for medical expenses that transgender personnel may incur. He denied people who wanted to serve their country and put their lives on the line that opportunity based solely on the gender they chose to identify with.

Biden signed the executive order repealing the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military on January 25, 2021. President Biden’s almost immediate action shows his support for the LGTBQ+ community and his desire for diversity in the military. This plan was expected as Biden told the world this would be in place from day one.

Former President Trump tweeted in his first year of office: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you” (Trump).

When Trump made this decision it had only been one year since his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, announced that transgender individuals could serve their country openly. Trump’s decision showed his feelings towards transgender individuals versus Biden’s feelings. Biden has made it very clear in the first few weeks of his term that he wants the world to know that America welcomes all and is a very accepting country.