Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis speaks at a press conference at the end of the NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, (Photo: Julien Warnand, EPA Images) 
 
 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced late Friday that it will delay until at least 2018 rolling out its policy for acceptance of transgender troops into the ranks. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved the recommendation from the services that lifting the ban be delayed to allow them time to review the impact on “the readiness and lethality of our forces,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement. The move by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis comes just hours before a July 1 deadline, set in the Obama administration, for the military to recruit transgender enlisted troops and to accept new officers. “Secretary Mattis' decision to prolong the enlistment ban will have the effect of requiring applicants to lie in order to join the military, as was the case under ‘Don’t Ask, don’t tell,’ Belkin said.
– The military isn't quite ready to recruit transgender troops. A new policy allowing the Pentagon to do so was supposed to begin on July 1, but defense chief Jim Mattis said Friday night that it would be delayed six months, reports USA Today. A Pentagon statement said Mattis had approved a request by the military's branches to postpone the change in policy so they'd have more time to assess its impact on the "readiness and lethality of our forces." An estimated 15,500 transgender troops are currently serving, per Politico, and Mattis' decision does not affect them. Critics of the move said it would force transgender recruits to lie if they want to join the military, just as Don't Ask, Don't Tell had forced gay recruits to hide their sexual identity. But Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., applauded the move, asserting that the idea of transgender recruitment is “ill-conceived and contrary to our goals of increasing troop readiness.”