The webpage for Joining Forces, a Obama administration led program to support military spouses and veterans has been deleted from the White House website just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office.
The webpage, still available online, instead redirects to an Obama administration archive page. The removal of the page was first reported by MilitaryOneClick.
Joining Forces is not the only page to be removed from the White House website today. Other missing pages include one on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues, one on climate change and one on civil rights. A report on LGBT rights was also removed from the Department of Labor's site.
It is not uncommon for new administrations to discontinue special programs started by past presidents or their appointees. However, military families had expressed support since the election in keeping the Joining Forces program alive. A small sample included in a Military.com SpouseBuzz poll shows that almost 70 percent of those who responded supported keeping the now apparently defunct program.
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Joining Forces was launched in 2011 and has been credited with expanding spouse and veteran job help as well as making it easier for military spouses to transfer professional licenses across state lines.
