WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), Ranking Member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee; Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus (CEC); Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Vice Chair of the CEC; and Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Co-Chair of the CEC introduced the Fit To Serve Act today, which affirms the rights of transgender people to serve in the United States Armed Forces by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, including a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

The bill was filed in response to Executive Order 14183 issued by President Trump on January 27, 2025which effectively bans transgender people from serving in the United States military. On February 20, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued guidance to implement President Trump’s military transgender ban, which resulted in the filing of legal challenges. On March 27, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the DoD from enforcing the ban. On May 6, the Supreme Court stayed the injunction, allowing the Trump Administration to enforce the ban as the lawsuit proceeds.

“Any person who is willing to put their life on the line to protect and defend the United States of America deserves our honor and respect—full stop,” said Rep. Houlahan. “The Trump Administration’s hateful and discriminatory attack on transgender service members, who serve effectively in positions across our Armed Forces, is reprehensible and will undoubtedly weaken our national security. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues to introduce The Fit to Serve Act, which will put an end to the President’s culture wars against our transgender service members.”

“As I have said repeatedly, thousands of transgender service members have served openly with honor and distinction in combat zones and carrying out high-stakes missions for nearly a decade. They are held to the exact same rigorous standards as every other Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Guardian, or Coast Guardsman. Banning them simply because they are transgender will not strengthen our military—it will weaken it. Enforcing this bigoted policy for the sake of cruelty and to score partisan points is antithetical to what the United States of America and our Armed Forces stand and fight for,” said Rep. Smith. “Transgender service members have put their lives on the line in defense of our freedom—we in Congress must now fight for their ability to serve and their fundamental right to exist.”

“Every person that steps up to serve our nation in uniform should be treated with the utmost respect, yet the Trump-Vance Administration has continuously attacked our nation’s transgender service members for daring to serve openly. These service members have continuously shown they are fit, qualified, and willing to serve, but Trump still wants to kick them out—purely for political purposes,” said Rep. Takano. “I believe strongly that Trump’s transgender military ban is unconstitutional and will ultimately fail in the courts, but as a co-equal branch of government, Congress has a duty to protect those who protect us. I’m proud to join Ranking Member Smith in introducing this bill to ensure long-lasting, explicit protections for our transgender service members.” 

“Our transgender service members just want to do their jobs – and we should let them. They’re equally qualified as all other service members and have proven their talent, expertise, and experience are invaluable. But by kicking out thousands of transgender service members from our military, Donald Trump is prioritizing discrimination over our national security. That’s why I’m proud to stand with those who’ve already sacrificed so much for us and to co-lead the Fit To Serve Act,” said Rep. Jacobs.

“Our country should be supporting anyone willing to answer the call to serve our country, protect our freedoms, and defend our national security,” said Rep. Sorensen. “Ending gender-identity discrimination makes our military stronger and helps fill our ranks with qualified service members who deserve to serve with dignity.”

On May 8, DoD set a June 6 deadline for transgender Active Component service members and a July 7 deadline for transgender Reserve Component service members to self-identify for voluntary separations. The military is expected to then initiate involuntary separation procedures for transgender service members once the voluntary self-identification eligibility window concludes.

The Fit to Serve Act seeks to thwart these efforts by affirming the rights of transgender people to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces by:

• Prohibiting the denial of accession, reenlistment, or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity, including a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of gender dysphoria;

• Prohibiting the involuntary separation of a service member on the basis of gender identity, including a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of gender dysphoria; and

• Ensuring access to medically necessary health care coverage for service members.

A copy of the bill text can be found here.

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