The Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday they will oppose President Trump’s announced ban on all transgender military service.
“We will fight this decision, just like we fought ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and ultimately justice will prevail,” the committee’s minority members said in a Twitter statement.
Trump’s morning tweets blindsided civil rights groups and members of Congress, eliciting swift condemnation from Democrats, a year after transgender troops were permitted to serve openly and just weeks after the Defense Department appeared to be moving forward with plans for recruitment.
“This announcement is an unwarranted and disgraceful attack on men and women who have been bravely serving their country,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Armed Services Democrat.
The president cited “tremendous medical costs” as a reason for the decision but Smith questioned the claim.
“The inflated cost estimates that President Trump appears to be alluding to have no basis in fact, and appear to be cooked up by right-wing advocacy organizations whose real interest is not to support military readiness but to further discrimination,” Smith said in a released statement.
