The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticized President Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military “in any capacity” and called the president a “draft dodger.”
“President Trump’s attack on Americans who want to step up and make incredible sacrifice to serve our country is disgusting, and it’s made worse by the political calculation behind it. Every Republican should speak out against it,” DCCC communications director Meredith Kelly said in a statement.
“President Trump is a draft dodger and if he wants to talk about 2018, we’ve got dozens of veteran candidates who have already shown what it looks like to step up and serve our country to keep us safe, and are ready to do it again in Congress.”
Trump said Wednesday morning on Twitter the military would no longer “accept or allow” transgender individuals to serve in “any capacity,” and cited the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” as the impetus behind his decision.
Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced last year transgender people already in the military were allowed to serve openly and instructed the service chiefs to create policies to allow transgender recruitment by July 1.
But Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis delayed implementation of those policies by six months.
Democrats and pro-LGBT groups said the president’s new transgender ban was based solely on politics.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Log Cabin Republicans said Trump’s decision “smacks of politics, pure and simple.”
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and a command sergeant major, said Trump was attempting to “distract from his political problems.”
