President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday to reinstate military members who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the Biden administration made it a requirement for service members.
Trump’s executive action is aimed at following through with his Inauguration Day pledge to reinstate discharged service members “with full back pay.” It could apply to more than 8,000 military members who were discharged from the military due to the mandate after it went into effect in 2021, and it’s a welcome move by Republicans on Capitol Hill, who had been hungry to revisit the divisive mandate that they messaged heavily around.
“The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members,” states the order.