‘Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies,’ President Donald Trump said.
President Donald Trump said on Jan. 20—moments after being sworn into office—that he would reinstate former members of the military who refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
“This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay,” Trump said at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
“And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. It’s going to end immediately.”
Both promises drew applause from the crowd that had gathered to watch Trump be sworn in and deliver a speech.
“Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies,” Trump said.
Under direction from then-President Joe Biden, the military imposed a COVID-19
vaccine mandate in 2021. More than 16,000 troops requested religious accommodation, but many of the requests were denied. The military discharged more than 7,000 troops whose requests were denied, and who still refused to receive a COVID-19 shot.
The military
rescinded the mandate in 2023, obeying a bill approved by Congress and signed by Biden.
Another bill required the military to consider reinstating former members who were discharged for refusing the vaccine and had requested reinstatement, but it did not compel the military to accept them back.
Some lawmakers advocated for including mandatory reinstatement in the legislation but did not succeed in ultimately including it.
“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for pledging to implement provisions in my bill, the Troop Act, which would reinstate soldiers who were discharged for refusing to take a COVID shot,” Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), a doctor,
wrote on the social media platform X on Monday. “Today marks the beginning of the American golden age!”
Multiple courts found that the military violated federal law in processing religious exemption requests, although one of those rulings was
thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A federal watchdog also concluded that several branches violated their own rules in handling requests for exemptions from the mandate. A settlement reached in one of the lawsuits brought by aggrieved members resulted in the correction of records for the members, which led to them being eligible for reenlistment.
Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told senators on Capitol Hill recently that the Pentagon would be giving back pay to former members who were “forced out due to an experimental vaccine.”
He also said the individuals would be reinstated to their previous rank, and receive apologies.
