House Republicans will introduce proposed legislation to make President Trump’s directive on transgender servicemembers permanent in line with his “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” executive order.
“I am introducing the Readiness Over Wokeness Act, which codifies @POTUS’s January 27, 2025, Executive Order prohibiting military service for transgender individuals and solidifies into law the DoD directive from @SecDef,” tweeted Alabama GOP U.S. Rep. Barry Moore.
The Trump administration recently scored a crucial victory after the Supreme Court ruled in its favor, paving the way for the removal of servicemembers suffering from gender dysphoria.
Shortly after, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a voluntary disclosure program for both active duty and reserve servicemembers pending separation.
Now, GOP lawmakers in the lower chamber are working on a draft proposal to permanently ban transgender individuals from joining the military.
Dubbed the Readiness Over Wokeness Act, the bill would not only enhance the military’s readiness and lethality but also save taxpayers’ money.
“A person may not serve as a member of the armed forces if the person has a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibits symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria; or has a history of gender affirming care, including cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition,” the proposed legislation states.
It will also authorize the Secretary of Defense to administratively discharge current servicemembers who were barred from serving due to gender dysphoria.
Discharged servicemembers will also not be required to complete their service or reimburse the government for any benefits obtained after joining the military, despite being unable to perform their obligations.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rep. Moore explained how individuals with gender dysphoria exploited the military to receive sex change treatment and gender-affirming care, and leave before they could deploy.
“What we had with this trans movement was we had a bunch of people coming in, signing a six-year contract, and then starting the surgeries and starting the hormone replacements …, and then by the time they could really actually serve, they were ready to get out,” said Rep. Moore. “I think in many ways the taxpayers get a much bigger bang for their buck, No. 1. And No. 2, I think that if I’m looking at joining, these guys are really focused on fighting, and if I’m in the foxhole with these guys, these are people I’ve trained with, they’re capable.”
Before his confirmation as Secretary of Defense, Hegseth had described how the military alienated the core fighting demographics in favor of transgender individuals. “…and in trying to cater to that, they lost the boys in Tennessee and Kentucky and Oklahoma. The traditional dudes who did it because they wanted, they loved their country, or they wanted the adventure, or they wanted to try tough things….”
According to the California-based think tank Palm Center, approximately 14,707 servicemembers—of whom 8,980 are active duty and 5,727 are in the reserves—identify as transgender, including 1,850 who identify as men despite having joined as women.
