Sarah McBride: Trump’s trans ban ‘weakens’ US military
Sarah McBride was the first trans person to be elected to US congress. (Getty)
Sarah McBride was the first trans person to be elected to US congress. (Getty)
Democratic congresswoman Sarah McBride has slammed Republicans for blocking votes on her amendments to the 2026 National Defence Authorisation Act.
McBride, the first out trans woman in congress, hoped to use the legislation to repeal president Trump’s ban on transgender men and women serving openly in the US armed forces. However, the Republican majority blocked the amendments.
Speaking on the floor of the house of representatives earlier this month, McBride insisted that the ban only served to weaken the armed forces. “They wore the uniform, they kept their promises to us. It’s time we keep our promises to them,” she said, before accusing Republicans of actively undermining the nation’s values by refusing to even debate the issue.
“It’s one thing for some of my colleagues to disrespect me but it’s another thing entirely to disrespect the people who lay down their lives for this country,” McBride added.
Shannon Minter, a vice-president at the National Center for LGBTQ rights, called the air force’s move “a double betrayal”, The Advocate reported, while a spokesperson for The Modern Military Association of America described the ban as “deliberately cruel”.
In August, trans members of the air force spoke out after a leaked memo appeared to show that transgender personnel, with 15 to 18 years’ service, were being denied early retirement.
Trump began his second term in office by signing a number of executive orders, aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the government and in the military, and banning trans people from serving in the military.
In July, McBride explained how trans rights have regressed in the US, and she has often accused her Republican colleagues of using transgender-related issues topics to distract from their failure to address more-pressing problems.
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