the services will review their accession plans and provide input on the impact to the readiness to fight is his top priority .
in may , deputy defense secretary robert work had ordered the armed services to advise him of their plans to meet the deadline , or advise him of concerns about how accepting new transgender troops could affect the military 's readiness to fight .
defense secretary jim mattis approved the recommendation from the services that lifting the ban be delayed to allow them time to review the impact on “ the readiness and lethality of our forces , ” pentagon spokeswoman dana white said in a statement .
secretary mattis today approved a recommendation by the services to defer accessing transgender applicants into the military until jan. 1 , 2018 , " pentagon spokeswoman dana white said in a statement . "
former defense secretary ash carter made the decision to allow transgender troops to serve openly on june 30 , 2016 , with an implementation deadline of july 1 , 2017 .
morning defense secretary mattis has caused problems .
in may , the air force and army were unable to defense secretary jim mattis approved the recommendation from the services that lifting the ban be delayed .
secretary of defense jim mattis comes just hours before a july 1 deadline , set in the obama administration , for the military to recruit transgender troops into the ranks .
| ap photo pentagon delays lifting of transgender troop ban the pentagon announced friday night that it will delay allowing openly transgender troops to join the military until jan. 1 , 2018 .