Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) called on President Donald Trump to rescind part of his executive order banning transgender members of the military.
Fetterman posted a video to his X account in which he declared himself “unapologetically pro the LGBTQ community” before asking the Trump administration to reverse the order.
“I want @DeptofDefense to be the most lethal force in human history — I will always vote for that,” Fetterman posted. “I will also never vote to degrade anyone. It’s not woke s***. It’s the inherent dignity of every servicemember regardless of race, gender, who they love or how they identify.”
“I call on @POTUS to rescind the executive order,” he said in the post.
He linked a video of himself standing by his office in front of two flags: a POW-MIA flag and the LGBT flag.
“I’m standing in front of my office and two flags that are two core values of mine,” Fetterman said.
“I am unapologetically pro-military. … I am also unapologetically pro the LGBTQ communities,” the senator said. “And I would like to remind everyone that there was a time when it was very controversial to desegregate our military. And there was a time when it was incredibly controversial to have women serve in combat roles, and it was also very controversial regarding on who one loves.”
“That’s why I’m encouraging you to honor the inherent dignity of how you identify, and I am going to defend and lean in for the trans community now because right now, it might not be popular to do that,” Fetterman added. “That’s exactly the reason why I’m choosing to lean in on it right now and stand with this community. I am calling to rescind that kind of executive orders, and to allow and honor the inherent dignity of the soldier, and regardless of whatever the race is, whatever the gender is, whatever they love or how they identify.”
“And remember, that does make for a military that’s fully compatible with being lethal and to win wars,” Fetterman said.
Trump’s “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” executive order emphasized the military’s mission to “protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.” It also stated that the armed forces must remain focused and develop a “warrior ethos” that “cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas.”
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The directive also mentioned that ideological influences have infiltrated the military due to the efforts of activists who were “unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion.”
The order referenced Department of Defense policy that required military members to be free of “medical conditions or physical defects that may reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization,” which has been documented to be a frequent issue with transgender military personnel.
