Transgender Americans Serve with Honor

Floor Speech

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Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, I joined my neighbors across Delaware in celebrating the freedoms that define our Nation, freedoms made possible by those who have worn the uniform.

It is appalling that while families gathered under fireworks to honor that sacrifice, the Trump administration was all too quietly forcing thousands of patriots from military service. These are Americans who have served with honor, distinction, and unshakable patriotism. They are brave, honorable, and committed patriots who have also dared to have the courage to say out loud that they are transgender. These are qualified, trained, and decorated servicemembers. They have deployed into combat, flown missions overseas, and led troops through danger.

Now, this administration is telling them that despite their qualifications and their exemplary quality of service that they can no longer serve, simply because of how they express their gender. That message is immoral, unfair, and un-American.

I represent Delaware's at-large district, a district that includes thousands, tens of thousands of Active-Duty servicemembers, veterans, and military families. In our State, service isn't abstract. It is personal. We see every single day what honor, discipline, and sacrifice looks like regardless of someone's gender identity.

These individuals met the same rigorous standards as their peers, the same physical exams, screenings, and background checks; and in many cases, under intense scrutiny, they didn't just meet those standards, they exceeded them.

Trans servicemembers are receiving glowing fitness reports and commendations. One was described by her commander as within the top 5 percent of officers I have encountered in 18 years of military service.

Another, an aviator with 60 combat missions under her belt, earned the strongest possible recommendation for promotion, and I quote her commander directly, who attested: ``People thrive under her leadership.''

A third, a noncommissioned officer and instructor, was called undoubtedly within the top 5 percent of NCOs I have worked with in my 22 years of service.

In a recent hearing, the Secretary of Defense even commended these patriots, only to frantically retract his praise when he decided that their being transgender, one small part of who these soldiers are, somehow outweighed their years of proven high performance and service to this country. These servicemembers were just dismissed by this administration.

The most powerful aspect of our military, the thing that makes it unique against our adversaries, is that it is a military of the people. In the United States, patriotism does not discriminate. In this country, if you are willing to serve, to fight for our core beliefs and to meet the standards, then we welcome you to stand with us, regardless of your race, religion, national origin, or any other aspect of who you are because you are an American, a patriot first.

This decision to remove proven patriots for no justification causes serious weakness to our force. It turns away proven courage. It wastes billions in taxpayer investment, decades of hard-earned experience, and is a direct blow to readiness because this decision isn't about readiness. It is not about discipline or merit, and it is certainly not about cost.

It is about exclusion. It is about using identity as a wedge to divide and distract. It is a cynical politics, not sound policy. Our military, which should never be a political tool, is paying the price.

Across Delaware, from Georgetown to Wilmington, I have met transgender veterans who served this Nation with distinction. Some stepped forward while hiding who they were, forced to choose between their truth and their country. Others served openly when policy briefly aligned with principle. All of them served with honor.

Mr. Speaker, these are Americans asking to serve their country and to put their last full measure of devotion on the line, just like generations before them. The least we can do is let them.

We are not made safer by sidelining qualified patriots. We are not made stronger by narrowing the ranks of who gets to serve. We are not made freer by telling brave Americans that their truth disqualifies them from service.

This ban weakens our military. It betrays our values. It sends the cruelest possible message to some of our most dedicated citizens. It says their service is unwelcome and that one identity matters more than what they have done, what they have sacrificed, and what they fight for.

Mr. Speaker, I reject that message. I salute every transgender servicemember. I thank them. I see them. I honor them. I will not stop fighting for a country that is truly worthy of their service.

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