CEC Blasts DoD’s Trans Military Ban Guidance
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after President Trump’s Department of Defense issued guidance on ousting transgender servicemembers and banning enlistment by transgender Americans:
“The contrast between Donald Trump—who cried “bone spurs” to avoid military service—and the countless transgender Americans who serve their country with valor couldn’t be any clearer. Now, Trump’s Department of Defense has taken the latest steps to oust thousands of qualified, dedicated, and deployable servicemembers simply because he doesn’t like who they are. This is morally wrong, unconstitutional, and stupid,” said Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “President Trump’s discriminatory ban will needlessly create gaps in critical chains of command, endanger our national security, and flush millions of dollars spent on training these servicemembers down the drain. Every American who is willing and able to serve should be able to, regardless of how the President feels about their identity. As Chair of the Equality Caucus, the largest coalition of Members in the House of Representatives, I am committed to seeing this un-American ban undone and working to pass explicit, long-lasting protections for transgender people who sign up to serve their nation into law.”
BACKGROUND
On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order which states that people who are transgender “cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service” and that their identity “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
On February 26, 2025, Darin S. Selnick, who is Performing Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, issued guidance that directs servicemembers who identify as transgender to be separated from military service and that disqualifies transgender applicants from being eligible to serve their country—just because of who they are.