President Donald Trump, in a series of three tweets earlier this week, said that transgender men and women would not be allowed to serve in the ranks "in any capacity." | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Congress advised it has authority to undo any transgender military ban

If President Donald Trump follows through on his declaration to ban all transgender military personnel, Congress could delay or even undo it, according to a new analysis from the legislative branch's research arm.

Trump, in a series of three tweets earlier this week, said that transgender men and women would not be allowed to serve in the ranks "in any capacity."


The snap announcement took Pentagon leaders and members of Congress by surprise and sparked an immediate bipartisan backlash. While some House Republicans were seeking to limit health care benefits for transgender troops, no lawmakers were calling for outright abolition.

Transgender individuals were permitted to serve openly a year ago, while the Pentagon took a year to study how to begin accommodating new recruits, or so-called accessions. That study was recently delayed six months.

"President Trump's tweets indicate that the accession policy changes that would have allowed transgender individuals to join the military are no longer under consideration," according to the new Congressional Research Service paper, first obtained by the Federation of American Scientists. "The tweets also imply that there will be a change to the 2016 policy allowing transgender members currently in the military to continue to serve. Given this announcement, Congress may wish to consider the potential effects of the policy shift and whether to take legislative action in response."

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It adds: "Congress may draft legislation to affect such Administration policy, under its authority to make laws governing the armed forces."

