An effort to permanently write President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service into federal law failed July 21 after the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a controversial amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), would have codified Trump’s executive order restricting transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. The House voted 217-212 to defeat the proposal, preventing the policy from being permanently written into federal law even as the executive order itself remains in effect while legal challenges continue.
Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) hailed the amendment’s defeat, saying, “Republicans tried to codify Trump’s trans military ban into law, but my fellow members of the Congressional Equality Caucus and I put in countless hours of work in order to kill this amendment — and we were successful. I’m grateful for the bipartisan vote to defeat this discriminatory amendment.”
However, Takano warned that the broader defense bill still contains other anti-LGBTQ+ provisions approved by House Republicans. “When Americans know they or their families are going to be targeted by or not supported by the military, that leads them to avoid signing up to serve or staying in the service — making it harder to keep the ranks of the armed services full and our nation safe,” he said, adding that the Equality Caucus would continue fighting to keep those provisions from becoming law.
President Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing the Department of Defense to bar most transgender people from military service. While the order is currently being enforced, LGBTQ+ advocates note that executive orders can be reversed by a future administration, whereas legislation passed by Congress would be far more difficult to undo.
The Senate will now consider its own version of the annual defense authorization bill before negotiating final language with the House. Although the vote does not change the current status of Trump’s executive order, LGBTQ+ advocates say defeating the amendment keeps Congress from permanently codifying the ban into federal law.
To date, according to Pentagon data, approximately 4240 individuals have documented gender dysphoria diagnoses. Initially, around 1,000 individuals came forward and accepted the forced retirement offer. The exact number of forced separations remains unknown because of the continuing court cases that follow individuals who do not wish to retire.
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