President Donald Trump said he will reinstate all military members who were dismissed for refusing to comply with orders to receive the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.
“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,” the newly inaugurated 47th President Trump said inside the Capitol Rotunda during the swearing-in ceremony Monday.
Around 8,400 troops were expelled from the military after refusing orders and declining the vaccine, according to military data, with Marines making up around 3,700 of the dismissals. Thousands of others got medical and religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate.
Trump’s comments echo those made by his Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearings last week, who said the members would be “apologized to” and “reinstituted with pay and rank.”
“And I will sign in order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty,” Trump said Monday. “It’s going to end immediately. Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission, defeating America’s enemies.”
The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military members lasted from August 2021 to January 2023, when it was overturned by legislation. Despite the new law, dismissed military members were not reinstated, leading to some pushback from conservative lawmakers.
The administration did not immediately provide details of the reinstatement and information on how much back pay may cost.