Defense Department

The city of Dayton has sued the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the U.S. Department of Defense for failing to stop water contaminants from entering a source of the city’s drinking water.

President Biden signed an executive order repealing the Trump transgender ban in his first week in office, directing the Pentagon to begin the process to allow transgender people to serve openly.

Lloyd Austin arrived in Kabul on his first visit as defense secretary as the Biden administration discusses when to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan.

Officials said Wednesday that the masks will be delivered in the coming months, and are expected to reach an estimated 12 to 15 million vulnerable Americans.

White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt said part of the first contingent of more than 1,000 troops is set to begin operations in California mid-February with more vaccination missions to follow.

Former President Donald Trump had first ordered a ban on transgender service members in 2017, and President Biden had long promised to repeal the directive.

Austin's near-unanimous confirmation came despite concerns raised on both sides of the aisle that he hadn't been out of uniform for the legally mandated minimum seven-year period.

"Military and some civilian leaders have been in constant damage control over the last four years. The old 'cleanup on aisle 4, then 6, then 8,' " a retired officer says of President Trump's tenure.

"Our job, we know, has never been more important, more significant, or more challenging than it is right now," says Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

Lloyd Austin, a retired Army general, would be the first African American in the job. But confirming Austin to the top civilian spot in the Defense Department would require a waiver.