President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he opposed allowing transgender people to serve in the United States military “in any capacity.”

One day after the president’s surprise announcement, however, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are telling the military that they should not implement any changes to the current transgender policy until they receive more explicit direction from the White House.

ADVERTISEMENT

“US Joint Chiefs of Staff tells military there will be no modification to transgender policy until direction received from [president],” writes Reuters reporter Idrees Ali.

EXCLUSIVE: US Joint Chiefs of Staff tells military there will be no modification to transgender policy until direction received from Pres — Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) July 27, 2017

Ali also reports that Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent out a letter informing the military that it should “continue to treat all of our personnel with respect” until it receives guidance from the White House.

"In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect." Dunford says in letter seen by Reuters https://t.co/Y5Fckbpfdc — Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) July 27, 2017

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump’s transgender policy announcement caught many in both the military and in Congress by surprise. A report from Politico claimed that the president made a snap decision to announce a ban on trans service members after social conservatives in Congress threatened to withhold funds from his proposed border wall unless he barred them from military service.