diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index a58e183a009..e5c0ebcbed9 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ gem "dalli"
 gem "listen", "~> 3.2", require: false, github: "guard/listen"
 gem "libxml-ruby", platforms: :ruby
 gem "connection_pool", require: false
-gem "rexml", require: false
 
 # for railties app_generator_test
 gem "bootsnap", ">= 1.4.4", require: false
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 69630d0e2e7..336c64155bd 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ PATH
       concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0, >= 1.0.2)
       i18n (>= 1.6, < 2)
       minitest (>= 5.1)
+      rexml
       tzinfo (~> 2.0)
       zeitwerk (~> 2.3)
     rails (6.1.0.alpha)
@@ -606,7 +607,6 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   redis-namespace!
   resque
   resque-scheduler
-  rexml
   rouge
   rubocop (>= 0.90)
   rubocop-packaging
diff --git a/activesupport/activesupport.gemspec b/activesupport/activesupport.gemspec
index 72cd995f02b..9cffc2696c9 100644
--- a/activesupport/activesupport.gemspec
+++ b/activesupport/activesupport.gemspec
@@ -38,4 +38,5 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_dependency "concurrent-ruby", "~> 1.0", ">= 1.0.2"
   s.add_dependency "zeitwerk",        "~> 2.3"
   s.add_dependency "minitest",        ">= 5.1"
+  s.add_dependency "rexml"
 end