The US House of Representatives has rejected an attempt to permanently write President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military into federal law.
The amendment, introduced by Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert, was defeated on Tuesday, 21 July, by 217 votes to 212. Seven members did not vote.
All 213 voting Democrats opposed the measure. Republican Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick and Mike Lawler also voted against it, alongside Republican territorial delegates Kimberlyn King-Hinds and James Moylan.
Amendment Sought to Codify Trump Executive Order
Boebert’s proposal was Amendment 18 to the National Defence Authorisation Act for the 2027 financial year, the annual legislation setting military policy and authorising funding for the Department of Defence.
It sought to codify Executive Order 14183, which Trump signed on 27 January 2025.
The order claimed that expressing a “false ‘gender identity’” different from a person’s sex was incompatible with the standards required for military service.
It also directed the Pentagon to end the use of pronouns that do not reflect a person’s sex and generally barred personnel from using sleeping, changing or bathing facilities designated for the opposite sex.
The House Armed Services Committee described Boebert’s amendment as requiring all military personnel to serve according to their “biological sex”, citing readiness and discipline.
Its defeat means those provisions will not be added to the National Defence Authorisation Act through Boebert’s amendment.
However, the vote does not itself overturn Trump’s executive policy. The military ban remains in effect while legal challenges continue through the courts. A federal appeals panel ruled in June that the Pentagon policy was unlawful, but placed its decision on hold while the administration sought further review.
Separate Restriction on Gender-Affirming Care Passes
While Boebert’s proposal failed, the House approved a separate amendment introduced by South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace.
That measure, passed by 219 votes to 208, would prevent the military’s TRICARE health programme from covering certain gender-related medical treatments and procedures.
The different outcomes show that the House remains closely divided over policies affecting transgender service members and military families.
Republicans have spent years advancing measures targeting transgender Americans, frequently presenting them as protections for women’s sport, parental authority or military readiness.
Democrats and LGBTQ+ advocates argue the policies discriminate against transgender people and exclude otherwise qualified personnel from public life and military service.
Trump Continues to Target Trans People in Speeches
Trump regularly refers to transgender people in public appearances, including during speeches that have little direct connection to LGBTQ+ policy.
During a televised address on 16 July, while claiming the United States had regained international respect, Trump said: “We had transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, crime ravaging our cities, and the whole world was laughing at us as a nation. But not anymore.”
He also recently made a false claim that companies seeking money through the CHIPS and Science Act had been required to hire transgender executives.
“We had this ridiculous CHIPS Act where you give billions of dollars to a company,” Trump said, referring to the bipartisan legislation signed by former president Joe Biden in 2022.
“And of course, the standards were so high – if you weren’t transgender, as an example, you didn’t qualify.
“So they’d get the money, they’d hire, they’d look all over for transgender people to run the company, large portions. They couldn’t find them. They weren’t into the chip-making business, I guess, right? They had other things on their mind.”
There is no requirement in the CHIPS and Science Act for companies to be managed by transgender people or to hire transgender executives to qualify for funding.
US Representative Doris Matsui, who helped develop the legislation, accused Trump of deliberately spreading disinformation.
“Donald Trump is lying,” Matsui said.
“He’s deliberately spewing disinformation to incite hatred and divide Americans while attacking one of the most important investments we’ve made in American manufacturing, economic growth, and national security.”
The rejection of Boebert’s amendment represents a rare defeat for an anti-transgender proposal in the Republican-controlled House. However, the continuing military ban, ongoing court proceedings and passage of the separate TRICARE restriction mean the wider fight over transgender military service is far from settled.
