Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I know a few Members of this Chamber can't seem to muster any maturity when they have a transgender colleague, but members of the U.S. Armed Forces can and have. For years, transgender people have been serving in our military. There was no problem until Donald Trump decided to fire thousands of qualified, capable servicemembers simply because of their gender identity. These servicemembers were proudly serving arm in arm with their peers: deploying, training, leading, and sacrificing. They met the same standards, passed the same tests, earned the same promotions, and they were praised by their commanding officers. There was no problem until the Trump administration created a problem by removing thousands of loyal patriots from service, squandering investments made in their training and careers, and disrupting lives and units. That is why I introduced an amendment to repeal this ban because this ban doesn't strengthen our military. It weakens it. It doesn't uphold our values. It betrays them. It sends the cruelest message to some of our most devoted patriots that one identity they hold matters more than their service.”