Washington DC is in the middle of a February cold snap. Thick snow and below freezing temperatures chilled the city last week, and more snow is expected today.While there is no sign of warmer weather, there is a certain thawing out taking place on Capitol Hill.

Heat is being generated by the Defense Department review of its ban on gay and lesbian soldiers serving openly in the military. The days of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy may be numbered.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate that the department will make public its findings by the end of the year, but around town there is a clear sense that time may be up for the policy. Secretary Gates said the changes in public attitudes meant that it is a matter of when, not if, the controversial law will be overturned.

For more than 15 years the role of gay and lesbian soldiers has been in the presidential too-hard basket. In 1993, Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton, opposed a change in policy supported “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a compromise.

Under the policy, homosexuals may continue to serve provided they keep their sexual orientation secret.

President Barack Obama signalled change was on the way in his first State of the Union address last week. Current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm Mike Mullen didn’t mince his words in testimony.

“We have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals, and ours as institutions,” Mullen said.

Senator John McCain, ranking Republican on Senate Armed Services committee, said that he was “deeply disappointed” at the debate and that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was as sound as ever. McCain argued military culture was so different from civilian life that it required different rules.

Twitter feeds and talking heads have been consumed by the debate today, and major news outlets in the United States have had hour-to-hour coverage of the hearings. Networks including CNN and MSNBC have been running interviews with gay and lesbian soldiers, concealing their faces and distorting their voices.

Republicans will most likely be unwilling to debate the topic and make it a campaign issue as the country fights wars in two foreign countries. With the Congressional mid-term elections only months away, this issue has the potential to turn into another political snowball racing away from the Administration.

It remains to be seen if Obama has the muscle and political capital to convince Congress to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.