Trump Set To Sign Executive Order Reinstating Service Members Formerly Discharged For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine


READING, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 04: Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania. With one day left before the general election, Trump is campaigning for re-election in the battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:17 PM – Monday, January 27, 2025

President Donald Trump is anticipated to sign an executive order reinstating the thousands of service members previously discharged after refusing to be injected with the experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

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Under the Biden administration, over 8,000 service members were discharged due to their unwillingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine. The discharges had even affected many service members’ ability to receive veteran benefits.

They are not only expected to return to their previous ranks, but also receive back pay and benefits as well, Trump noted.

“The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated,” a White House fact sheet obtained by Fox News reveals.

“From 2021 to 2023, the Biden Administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops solely due to their COVID-19 vaccination status,” the letter continued. “After the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023, only 43 of the more than the 8,000 troops dismissed elected to return to service under the Biden Administration and Secretary Austin.”

Trump previously stated during his inaugural address last week that he plans on “reinstat[ing] any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay.”

Trump’s recently-confirmed defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, also pledged to stand by Trump’s promise to reinstate all service members who denied the jab. Hegseth confirmed during his confirmation hearing that the affected men and women “will receive an apology, back pay and rank that they lost.”

“Today there are more executive orders coming that we fully support – on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome of America,” Hegseth stated on Monday.

“This is happening quickly, and as the secretary of defense, it’s an honor to salute smartly … [and] to ensure these orders are complied with,” he added.

Additionally, Trump also plans on signing two additional executive orders banning DEI initiatives in the military, as well as prohibiting transgender identifying individuals from serving.

“Unit cohesion requires high levels of integrity and stability among servicemembers,” states a fact sheet for Monday’s order. “It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics.”

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