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U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, 2025
The Delaware congresswoman said lawmakers were "betraying" those who volunteer to wear the uniforms of the U.S. military.
Delaware Democratic Congresswoman Sarah McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress, sharply criticized House Republicans on Tuesday for blocking votes on her amendments to the 2026 defense authorization bill.
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Speaking on the House floor, McBride said her proposals, one to repeal the Trump-era ban on transgender military service and another to restore retirement benefits to veterans forced out before 20 years of service, were about fairness and military readiness.
Related: Air Force rescinds early retirement approvals for transgender service members kicked out by Trump
“There was no problem until Donald Trump decided to fire thousands of qualified, capable service members simply because of their gender identity,” McBride said during debate on H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. “They wore the uniform. They kept their promises to us. It’s time we keep our promises to them.”
The Republican majority, which controls the House agenda, blocked the amendments. McBride accused GOP leaders of undermining both military strength and national values by refusing to act. “It’s one thing for some of my colleagues to disrespect me, but it’s another thing entirely to disrespect the people who lay down their lives for this country,” she said.
The debate comes amid growing controversy over the treatment of transgender service members. In January, Trump issued an executive order directing the Pentagon to purge trans service members. After federal judges blocked the implementation of the policy, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in and allowed the ban to take effect while cases about the policy wind their way through the federal court system.
In August, the U.S. Air Force rescinded previously approved early retirements for several transgender personnel under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority. Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, a decorated noncommissioned officer, was among those affected. “Our service speaks for itself,” he told The Advocate. Technical Sgt. Alyx Anguiano told The Advocate the reversal left her family in financial limbo after they had purchased a home based on her approved retirement.
Related: Air Force veteran stripped of retirement under Trump's transgender purge
Advocates have condemned the Air Force’s move as discriminatory and destabilizing. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, called it “a double betrayal.” The Modern Military Association of America described it as “deliberately cruel.”
McBride has spoken repeatedly about the Trump-era ban’s impact on national security and individual service members. In July, she denounced the policy as “immoral” and “un-American” and pledged to continue raising the issue in Congress.
“This ban doesn’t strengthen our military, it weakens it,” she said Tuesday. “It doesn’t uphold our values. It betrays them.”
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