Eligible US men will be automatically registered for military draft

The United States will automatically register eligible men aged 18 to 25 for a military draft pool beginning in December.

The rule change was submitted by the Selective Service System, which maintains a database of Americans who would be able to serve in the military. 

'This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources,' the agency's website said. 

It adds that the rule change remains under review by regulatory affairs and is awaiting finalization.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon and the White House for comment.

The last time a draft was conducted in the US was in the 1970s, during America's highly controversial involvement in the Vietnam War.

Despite no active conscription, men between the ages of 18 and 25 had still been required to register with the Selective Service System should one be activated. 

The agency's website said that this rule change will merely streamline this process as part of a 'workforce realignment'. 

There have been multiple proposals to also add young women to the draft, but none that have passed into law. 

Men who fail to register face a fine of up to $250,000, five years in prison and loss of eligibility for federal programs. 

Shortly after the war in Iran began, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to rule out the option on an appearance with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News. 

'President Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table. I know a lot of politicians like to do that quickly,' Leavitt told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

She insisted, however, that it's not part of the current plan.

Donald Trump has so far publicly downplayed the option of deploying ground troops, saying he'd only do so 'if necessary' but that it would be a 'waste of time'.

But at the same time, reports emerged of sources claiming the President has privately expressed 'serious interest' in such a deployment.

Bartiromo noted that 'mothers are worried' there would be a draft that takes their sons to war.

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'It's not part of the current plan right now, but the President, again, wisely keeps his options on the table,' Leavitt reiterated.

She said that Trump 'wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation' before making a decision on the matter of ground troops. 

Polls for decades have shown that Americans are strongly against a draft, their resistance shaped largely by the failures of the Vietnam War and a preference for an all-volunteer, professional defense force.

Any attempts to bring back the draft would have to be approved by Congress, which would need to amend the Military Selective Service Act.