U.S. House rejects permanent transgender military ban in defense bill vote

House Republicans tried to turn President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service into something harder to undo. They failed narrowly, and not before approving two measures targeting transgender troops and their families.

An amendment from Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado that would have given Trump’s executive order “the force and effect of law” failed Tuesday, 212-217. Four Republicans joined every voting Democrat in opposing it.

The vote leaves the administration’s ban in place while preserving a path for courts, Congress or a future president to reverse it.

"Republicans tried to codify Trump’s trans military ban into law, but my fellow members of the Congressional Equality Caucus and I put in countless hours of work in order to kill this amendment—and we were successful. I’m grateful for the bipartisan vote to defeat this discriminatory amendment,” Rep. Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a statement.

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Advocates also celebrated the amendment's failure. “At SPARTA Pride, we welcome the House’s rejection of an effort to permanently codify the transgender military ban into federal law,” Kara Corcoran, executive director of SPARTA Pride, told The Advocate in an email.

Trump’s policy bars transgender people from serving openly and has forced service members to fight for their careers in federal court. Corcoran said lawmakers’ refusal to cement the ban into statute matters because executive action can be reversed. “Congress chose not to make discrimination permanent,” she said. “We are grateful that transgender troops will continue to have the ability to fight for their right to serve.”

That relief came with a warning. The House approved two amendments from Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina targeting healthcare and school athletics.

One would prohibit TRICARE, the military’s health insurance program, from covering transition-related care for service members and their family members, including hormone treatment, puberty blockers and surgeries. SPARTA Pride said the provision would deny medically necessary care to military families and could leave transgender troops without treatment even if open service is restored.

Related: Federal appeals court rules that Trump’s trans military ban appears discriminatory

The second would bar transgender girls from competing on girls’ teams in Defense Department schools. The amendment defines eligibility according to reproductive biology but does not say how schools would verify a student’s sex. SPARTA Pride, which advocates for transgender people in the military, warned that enforcement could create serious privacy risks for military children.

“There are thousands of service members with transgender children who now have to face whether or not they should stay in the military, as the government they serve discriminates against their kids,” Corcoran said.

The House passed the broader defense authorization bill Wednesday, 216-212. The Senate must now consider its own version before lawmakers negotiate a final bill.

“We must protect our military families,” Corcoran said. “Our focus now shifts to the Senate and ultimately the conference, where we will continue advocating for policies that support military families and ensure every qualified American has the opportunity to serve.”