Rep. Sara Jacobs Leads Effort to Reverse Trump’s Transgender Military Ban
Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Co-Chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force, led 41 members in an effort to reverse President Trump’s transgender military ban. In a letter to Secretary Hegseth, the lawmakers urged the Secretary to rescind his recent memo that targets transgender service members and to compel President Trump to rescind Executive Order 14183. Kicking out the thousands of transgender service members in the Armed Forces would undermine readiness and recruitment efforts and take 20 years and cost billions of dollars to replace their lost talent, knowledge, and expertise.
Read Rep. Sara Jacobs’ Letter Here
The lawmakers wrote:
“As Members of Congress, we write to you to express our deep concerns about your recent memo and the executive order targeting members of the Armed Forces who are transgender. Any American who currently does – or can in the future – meet the standards required of military service should have the opportunity to serve. And in an all-volunteer force, transgender Americans serve at twice the rate of the general population and have proven that they are more than up to the challenge. Therefore, we ask you to rescind your memo and to urge President Trump to withdraw Executive Order 14183 that bans transgender people from serving in the military and negatively impacts the lethality of our Armed Forces.
“In your first letter to the force as Secretary, you committed to supporting all our service members. You stated, “Just as my fellow soldiers had my back on the battlefield, know that I will always have your back. We serve together at a dangerous time. Our enemies will neither rest nor relent. And neither will we. We will stand shoulder to shoulder to meet the urgency of this moment. Like each of you, I love my country and swore an oath to defend the Constitution. We will do that each and every day, as one team.” With the release of your memo, your promise has been negated for the thousands of transgender service members and their families — many of whom have been serving openly for nearly a decade.
“These troops have been serving with courage, honor, and effectiveness in every theater across the globe, including combat deployments. Their service has been recognized with countless commendations and awards. As you know, any service member who remains undeployable for 12 months may not continue serving regardless of the reason. Transgender service members are already held to that standard.
“Replacing the level of expertise of the 73% of transgender personnel who are senior enlisted and have extensive experience would cost billions of dollars and take up to 20 years. They are deployed today in units, and are combat-ready. Deeming a fully qualified service member as unfit for service simply because of their identity is in opposition to the values of a meritocratic all-volunteer force that depends on the willingness of capable patriots. This policy will further alienate the current military-age generation, of which a far larger portion openly identify as LGBTQ+ — people who the military needs to volunteer to be our future warfighters.
“Banning transgender individuals from serving in the military, including discharging those currently in uniform, would be detrimental to our military readiness and retention, and we implore you to rescind your memo and urge President Trump to withdraw this executive order to protect the lethality of our Armed Forces.”
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