President Trump said Monday he will reinstate the thousands of American troops kicked out of the military for refusing the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Trump said he’ll take action on the matter this week during his first several days in office. About 8,000 troops were expelled from the ranks during enforcement of the vaccine mandate, which was subsequently repealed by Congress as part of a bipartisan defense spending bill in late 2022.

“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,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, also has made that promise. It’s not clear how much the back pay would cost, but it would likely be in the millions of dollars. It’s also not clear whether all of the 8,000 troops will want to rejoin the military, but Mr. Trump’s strong comments Monday suggest that his administration will push to get them back in the ranks.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.