Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Thursday she will “fight back” against new rules reportedly being considered by the White House that would bar transgender military medical care and recruiting, and kick out those troops deemed unable to deploy.
“To all trans men and women serving bravely in the military: I plan to introduce legislation to fight back. We’ll keep raising our voices,” Gillibrand tweeted Thursday.
The White House draft guidance, reported by the Wall Street Journal, was expected to be finalized soon and sent to the Pentagon. It would be the next step in implementing the prohibition on transgender service that President Trump announced on Twitter July 26.
Gillibrand was still working to write the new transgender bill, and the details are still being hashed out, according to a congressional aide.
In July, the senator partnered with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Pentagon to complete a six-month review of transgender recruiting before enacting any prohibitions on service.
The report late Thursday of new guidance being finalized by the White House reignited the debate and led advocates to criticize the administration for pushing ahead with a “purge” of transgender service members.
“Sen. Gillibrand believes this move has little to do with military strength and everything to do with discrimination and ignorant bigotry,” Whitney Mitchell Brennan, her spokeswoman, wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner. “She plans to introduce legislation to address this issue once the Senate is back in session.”
