Dec 11, 2017

Transgender individuals can enlist in military beginning Jan. 1

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

The Pentagon announced today that transgender troops will be allowed to enlist in the United States military beginning on January 1, though with a strict set of medical and mental health guidelines, per the AP. That comes despite President Trump's attempt to ban all transgender individuals from serving in the armed forces, which has been struck down twice by federal courts.

The timeline: While the Obama administration declared that transgender individuals already in the military could serve openly in 2016, it set a deadline of July 1, 2017 to determine enlistment guidelines for new transgender recruits. Defense Secretary James Mattis delayed that decision until for six months for further review. The Trump administration had attempted to further extend that deadline via federal court filings, but today's move indicates that it believes it'll lose that fight.

Go deeper

Mike Allen, author of AM
24 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 50 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 32,390,204 — Total deaths: 985,302 — Total recoveries: 22,286,345 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m ET: 7,020,967 — Total deaths: 203,481 — Total recoveries: 2,710,183 — Total tests: 98,476,600 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow