Anti-Trans Amendments Added To "Must-Pass" Military Bill In House

One congressman called them a blow in the “right-wing culture war to target the transgender community.”

Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

Six anti-trans amendments were added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday, Sept. 10, during a Congressional debate over the routine greenlighting of the defense budget. Seventeen Democrats voted to advance the bill despite this.

The provisions include two all-ages health insurance restrictions for trans service members and their families, who are already being forced out of the military; a rule barring cadets assigned male at birth from any “athletic program or activity” for women, functioning as a sort of military-grade anti-trans sports ban; a “trans bathroom ban” for all single-sex military facilities, including housing and locker rooms; the exclusion of gender identity from military surveys; and a functional ban on Pride flags at all Department of War (deadname: “Defense”) workplaces.

If signed into law, most trans-affirming care will be defunded for those on Tricare and the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP).

“I want to make sure we understand some broad themes—why these amendments are problematic,” said Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington.

“The transgender community has been targeted and discriminated against aggressively,” he said in a speech on the floor. “This is exactly what these amendments are about—a right-wing culture war.”

Four of amendments—including one of the anti-gender affirming care provisions, the sex segregation of athletics, the rule against trans-inclusive surveys and the anti-trans facilities policy—were introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, who spewed anti-trans slurs onto the House floor. The Trump acolyte is also running for South Carolina Governor.

Some of the worst offenders were Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, both of whom voted in favor of all six provisions. Rep. Adam Gray voted for all of them except the flag ban, and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas voted in favor of the restrictions on health care and military athletics.

Reps. Fields and Figures approved the proposed trans care funding ban for Tricare, but not the other amendments—including the similar care regulation on the EFMP.

Meanwhile, the athletics provision was also supported by Democratic Reps. Laura Gillen, John Mannion and Tom Suozzi of New York; Jared Golden of Maine; Susie Lee of Nevada; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Kim Schrier of Washington.

"The Democrats who voted for the anti-trans NDAA amendments are out of line if they think throwing military families under the bus will win them votes,” said Tyler Hack, Executive Director of The Christopher Street Project, a group dedicated to supporting trans-friendly Democrats in elections. “Now is not a time for leaders to capitulate to this disgraceful attempt to erase trans people from existence and erode the fundamental rights for anyone who doesn't fit MAGA's ideal.”

All the amendments passed via a voice vote, but Democratic representatives insisted on a roll-call vote, where despite the anti-trans amendments, at least 17 Democrats voted to advance the full NDAA bill with the provisions included.

The December iteration of the NDAA also included language targeting what Senator Tammy Baldwin called “servicemembers’ parental rights to access medically necessary health care for their transgender children.” She and 24 other Democrats pushed for an amendment to block the anti-trans language, but a vote on that provision was sidestepped by Senate leadership—which, at the time, was controlled by Democrats. As Erin in the Morning reported, they refused to let the amendment even come to a vote. Ultimately, 37 Democratic senators voted in favor of that NDAA with that anti-trans provision intact.

“The National Defense Authorization Act has traditionally received strong bipartisan support, yet for the second Congress in a row House Republicans have tainted a bill aimed at improving the lives of servicemembers with poison-pill riders that threaten our troops’ rights, their families’ stability, and our efforts to retain top talent,” said Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat and Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, as per Bluesky.

“Republicans’ sacrifice of a strong bipartisan vote for a politicized NDAA to appease the Trump Administration and a small slice of their base cannot undo the sacrifice of the transgender servicemembers, cadets, or military dependents that will be hurt by this bill.”

The debates were marked by a sense of chaos on the House Floor, which transpired as news permeated about the assasination of the ultra-conservative and anti-trans pundit Charlie Kirk.

GOP congressmembers tried to stop Rep. Maxine Dexter of Oregon from even holding a Pride flag while speaking out in support of LGBTQ servicemembers. Rep. Sara Jacobs of California countered anti-trans rhetoric by drawing attention to the many kinds of gender-affirming care commonly provided to cisgender people, such as Botox, but Rep. Mace began yelling and posted on social media that Jacobs, who is Jewish, needs a “nose job.”

The amendments must now clear a vote in the Senate, which is majority Republican, indicating its passage could be imminent unless Democrats filibuster.