U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that transgender individuals won’t be allowed to serve in the country’s military. He said the decision came after consultations with military experts and generals.
Trump justified the decision saying the military must be “focused on decisive and overwhelming victory,” and transgender individuals would add “tremendous medical costs.” He did not elaborate on what the costs would be.
During the White House press briefing Wednesday afternoon, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president’s decision, and said that allowing transgender troops into the military would be a “disruptive policy.”
WATCH: Trump justified the decision by saying transgender people would add “tremendous medical costs.”
Sanders didn’t provide details on what it would mean for transgender troops already serving in the military.
WATCH: White House slammed on decision to ban transgender soldiers
“Implementation of the policy is going to be something that the White House and the Department of Defense have to work together to lawfully determine,” she said.
“Obviously, it’s a very difficult decision. But the president feels it’s the best one for the military.”
READ MORE: Reality check: Would allowing transgender U.S. soldiers result in ‘tremendous medical costs?’
Last year in June, former Defense Secretary Ash Carter lifted the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
“This is the right thing to do for our people and for the force,” Carter said in a statement at the time. “They can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender.”
Carter’s decision allowed transgender troops to receive medical care and change their gender in the Pentagon’s personnel system.
But Carter also gave the services until July 1, 2017, to develop policies to allow people already identifying as transgender to newly join the military. Transgender individuals would have to meet physical, medical and other standards, and have been stable in their identified genders for 18 months.
WATCH: Trump’s decision on transgender bathroom policy causes backlash from LGBTQ community
The president’s announcement comes weeks after current Defense Secretary Jim Mattis asked for a six-month delay in enforcing Carter’s decision.
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis issued a statement referring all questions about the announcement to the White House.
READ MORE: Trump’s ban on transgender troops leads to shock, anger and confusion
“We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving the military,” the statement read.
While the Pentagon has refused to disclose how many transgender individuals serve in the military, a Rand Corp. study estimated that there are between 2,500 and 7,000 on active duty and an additional 1,500 to 4,000 in the reserves.
Trump’s move to ban transgender individuals from the army was widely criticized by prominent figures online.
LGBT Caucus, a group of openly gay Congress members, defended transgender soldiers on Twitter.
LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD issued a statement calling the president’s decision a “direct attack on transgender Americans.”
“Today further exposed President Trump’s overall goal to erase LGBTQ Americans from this nation,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said in the release.
“Trump has never been a friend to LGBTQ Americans, and this action couldn’t make that any more clear.”
The American Medical Association also spoke out against the ban.
“There is no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from military service,” the organization wrote in a statement.
This isn’t the first time Trump has revoked rights that Barack Obama instituted for transgender individuals. In February, the president scrapped guidelines that allowed transgender students to use school bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity.
— With files from the Associated Press
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