President Donald Trump’s morning tweets: After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming………victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), a four-term member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement regarding President Trump’s anti-trans tweets:
“This morning’s tweets from the President are a disgraceful slap in the face to the thousands of transgender troops who are actively serving our country, and to all transgender Americans who aspire to serve. These troops are patriots who deserve to be appreciated for their service, not used as political props by their Commander in Chief. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I will fight to prevent President Trump’s ugly rhetoric against our troops from becoming reality, and to make sure these troops know that Americans appreciate their service and sacrifice.”
BACKGROUND
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Shea-Porter was a leader in the successful 2009 effort to overturn the discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
Earlier this month, Shea-Porter joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives in voting to defend transgender troops’ access to health care by defeating the Hartzler amendment.