President Donald Trump signed an executive order that significantly impacts transgender service members in the U.S. military.
The bold move was a 180-degree pivot from the Biden administration and like most things Trump, is causing intense controversy.
The ban in part, bars transgender individuals from enlisting and members already in the U.S. military from serving openly. It also bans medical coverage for transition-related care, the use of “invented and identification-based pronouns”, and keeps biological males out of female spaces like bathrooms, and sleeping areas.
The EO isn’t sitting well with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins who blasted it in an interview with Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw on Monday. Collins began by citing a statement from Crenshaw when he allegedly once said that he believed “troops should be able to serve openly and tell people what their identity is.”
“Let me ask you about some of the executive orders that Trump has been signing,” Collins began. “Because you have said that any American, who is willing and able to serve in the military should be allowed to do so. Do you oppose Trump’s ban on trans people serving in the military?
Crenshaw pushed back saying he didn’t recall making that statement and argued that once someone has transgender surgery they are unable to deploy.
“No, not at all. And I’m not sure where you got that quote,” Crenshaw said. “But you could find a lot of other quotes from me that would say that we should never allow anyone in the military to undergo transition surgery, which would make them medically-unqualified to deploy, and therefore reduce the readiness of the military.
“I know what war is like, and I know what it takes to deploy,” Crenshaw continued. “I was not allowed to deploy for vision issues. Now, what if you need to be on a bunch of medications, and your — and your entire body has been — has been changed radically into another gender? It makes it very difficult to deploy you into the places that we need to deploy you.”
“I had to be medically-retired for my condition. And my condition, arguably, is far less — is far less severe than undergoing a transition to a different gender.”
Unsatisfied with his answer, Collins then launched her gotcha moment and played an out-of-context 2021 Fox News clip of Crenshaw’s alleged supportive statement of transgenders in the military.
The trip down memory lane, as short as it was, seemed to catch Crenshaw off guard.
“And then I… and then I… and then I probably went on to say, if the conversation was about transgenderism in the military, I probably, in that interview, went on to say exactly what I just said. Because I’ve never changed my mind on this,” Crenshaw said.
The two continued their back and forth with Crenshaw emphatically stating that he’s never changed his mind on the issue and fully supports Trump’s E.O.
Debate also raged on X where someone asked, “Honest question. What is the benefit of banning transgender troops?”
There were plenty of answers:
ALL are non-deployable – they cannot be deployed to a combat theatre.
ALL have gender dysphoria – a mental health issue.
MOST will medically separate at 80%+ disability – leaving US Taxpayers on the hook for $2-300k annually.
Per person.
FOREVER. https://t.co/CPyInEMvj4
— Rob Smith (@robsmithonline) January 27, 2025
Transgender individuals require medications and monitoring for side-effect. Seriously, it’s not that hard to look up side-effects of HRT. https://t.co/SiQ7SOJkWy
— Alan Bayer (@AlanBayer2) January 27, 2025
The sole purpose of the military is to be the most lethal force in the world. Regardless of your beliefs – transgender individuals need a lot of medical attention – and those needs may cause issues on the battlefield. It’s no different than disqualifying troops if they are too… https://t.co/RdqBnVFTZE
— Chrissy Casilio (@ChrissyCasilio) January 28, 2025
It’s most likely a women’s safety issue. Where does a man claiming to be a woman bunk, which bathroom do they use?
— LeChuck Rising (@lechuckrising) January 27, 2025
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