Speaker Johnson Indicates LGBTQ+ People In Schools, Military Service Members May Be Targets

After securing enough votes to hold the House speakership, Speaker Johnson railed against "social justice" in the military and schools.

On Friday, after a tense hour-long delay that cast doubt on whether Representative Mike Johnson could muster enough support to retain his speakership, a last-minute intervention by President-elect Donald Trump secured the necessary votes. Johnson, newly reaffirmed as Speaker of the House, then took to the podium to outline his vision for the upcoming Congress. Among his priorities, he deployed carefully calibrated language—including dogwhistles that signal targeting LGBTQ+ people in schools and the military will be central to his legislative agenda.

“For too long, the Washington establishment has sought to please and accommodate our nation's adversaries. They’ve tried to replace our military warriors with social justice warriors. While we are still the most powerful fighting force in the world by God’s grace, the same establishment has eroded the capacities of our armies and navy and diminished the readiness of our air force. What we are proposing is simply, as President Trump likes to say, a return to common sense, and he is exactly right,” Speaker Johnson declared, outlining his military priorities.

It’s challenging, however, to frame a potential transgender military ban as “common sense.” Transgender individuals make up approximately 15,000 members of the United States military, with a majority serving as senior enlisted personnel. According to SPARTA in an interview with EITM, the leading advocacy group for transgender service members, the total operational investment in these individuals is estimated at up to $176,000 annually per person, representing a staggering $18 billion in capital investment. Additionally, a study by the Palm Center estimates that discharging transgender personnel and recruiting and training their replacements could cost the military another $1 billion.

Johnson also had thinly veiled words directed at LGBTQ+ individuals in schools, stating, “It’s parents and families, not administrators, that must be in charge of their children’s education.” This rationale has frequently been invoked by Republicans to justify measures such as the forced outing of transgender youth in schools, "Don’t Say Gay or Trans" laws banning classroom instruction on LGBTQ+ history, bathroom bans, and other restrictive policies. Indeed, the first proposed rules package under the incoming Republican leadership prioritizes redefining Title IX to exclude transgender people from its protections as its top priority issue. While ostensibly focused on sports, it remains unclear whether this redefinition will extend to areas such as bathroom access, bullying protections, and broader anti-discrimination protections.

You can watch Johnson’s speech here:

Interestingly, Johnson’s assertion that parents should control their children’s education stands in stark contrast to Republican arguments on medical care for transgender youth. Attorneys defending state bans on gender-affirming care frequently argue that it is the state, not parents, that should dictate decisions about such care. This contradiction highlights a selective application of the “parental rights” rationale. Notably, the Supreme Court has sidestepped these parental rights claims in a pending case on transgender healthcare bans, focusing instead on equal protection arguments for transgender individuals. A decision in this landmark case is expected in the coming months.

Perhaps most petty, in the final moments leading up to his speakership, the newly released rules package not only retained the anti-trans Title IX proposal as its top legislative priority but also reverted gender-neutral language in House documents back to strictly gendered terms:

In clause 8(c)(3), replace the phrase:

"parent, child, sibling, parent’s sibling, first cousin, sibling’s child, spouse, parent-in-law, child-in-law, sibling-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, half-sibling, or grandchild"

with:

"father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, grandson, or granddaughter."

In clause 15(d)(2), replace the phrase:

"parent, child, sibling, spouse, or parent-in-law"

with:

"father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law."

If the opening actions of this new Congress are any indication, transgender and queer people face an uphill battle in the years ahead. The fight will require Democrats to stand united and resolute against Republican attempts to strip away rights—a stance that has appeared uncertain in recent votes on issues like military coverage of transgender care. For those committed to holding their representatives accountable and demanding action, tools like MyReps by Datamade offer a clear path to contact legislators and ensure their voices are heard.