LGBTQ groups speak out as Trump moves to ban transgender Americans from serving in military
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
FIRST UP — Don’t forget that The Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau’s own Nicole Nixon and Jenavieve Hatch will be doing a live Q&A on the Trump administration’s battle with California today, starting at 5 p.m. Be sure to follow along! Find out more here!
LGBTQ GROUPS RESPOND TO TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY SERVICE BAN
On Monday night, President Donald Trump took the widely foreshadowed step of banning transgender Americans from serving in their nation’s uniform.
“For the sake of our nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.,” he said.
“The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions,” Trump’s executive order read in part, disregarding the trans women and men who have served their country over the years.
Under Trump’s order, newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has 60 days to update Department of Defense policy to enact the ban.
LGBTQ groups, both nationwide and in California, were aghast at the order.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement that this ban is nothing new for LGBTQ people, who for years faced discrimination under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which barred gay and lesbian Americans from openly serving, as well as Trump’s transgender ban from his first term of office.
That ban was challenged in court and when President Joe Biden took office, he rescinded Trump’s order.
“Transgender people are already serving in the military with honor and keeping our country and military safer and stronger. They meet the same rigorous health and readiness standards, and continue to do so. The Trump administration’s inaccurate statements and rhetoric targeting transgender people are not based on facts,” Ellis said.
Stateside, Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang also responded to the news with a statement, saying “Donald Trump’s continued efforts to stop transgender people from openly serving in the armed forces are discriminatory, and compromise the safety of all Americans.”
“With this order, Trump is attacking Americans who have risen above many obstacles and have demonstrated tenacity, strength, and courage. Every service member understands that when you put on the uniform, differences fade, and the focus is solely on completing the shared mission,” Hoang said.
State lawmakers, too, weighed in on the decision.
In a statement, the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus called Trump’s policy discriminatory and unwarranted.
“The notion that (transgender, gender nonconforming/non-binary, and intersex) service members are less-than is not only false, but also disrespectful to those who valiantly took up the call to duty and have been serving our country and its citizens for years. We extend our deepest gratitude to all of the brave individuals who serve our nation and uphold our national security, and will always support their freedom to authentically serve and their right to receive the benefits they have earned,” the caucus said.
ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE WILDFIRE BILL PACKAGE
On Tuesday, the Assembly Republican Caucus unveiled a package of 18 bills intended to address California wildfire prevention, response and recovery efforts.
“California hasn’t done nearly enough to remove flammable vegetation and prevent devastating wildfires — if you don’t believe the science, believe your own damn eyes,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, said in a statement, mimicking a phrase oft-used by California Gov. Gavin Newsom..
“We know what needs to be done to stop these fires — it’s just a question of whether the Legislature has the political will to do it. Disaster prevention and response needs to be California’s highest priority. It’s time to act,” Gallagher said.
The bills range from providing tax relief to people who harden their homes against wildfires to exempting all wildfire prevention projects from the California Environmental Quality Act to increasing criminal penalties for drones near fires and looting to creating a grant funding program for disaster assistance when federal aid is not available (say, for example, if Trump withholds it because California hasn’t enacted a voter ID law as he has suggested).
The bills are part of both the regular legislative session and the special session to Trump- and fire-proof the state, and will likely be heard in committee this spring.
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS URGE CONGRESS TO REAUTHORIZE RURAL SCHOOLS PROGRAM
A bevy of bipartisan state lawmakers have written to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, urging them to work together to swiftly reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.
The lawmakers, led by Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, R-Modoc, and including both Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Santee, as well as Assembly Republican Leader Gallagher, wrote in the letter that “a promise was made to California’s rural counties by the federal government over a century ago through the Secure Rural Schools program.”
In exchange for giving up their forestland to the U.S. Forest Service for logging, rural counties would receive a share of the logging profits, as well as other funds, to help pay for schools, roads and infrastructure. In California, approximately 20 million acres (20% of the state) is owned by the federal government.
“Without reauthorization, rural counties already threatened by a dwindling tax base will lack the money for basic repairs to school buildings, lay off teachers and staff, and cut programs critical to serving impoverished, high-needs children in remote communities,” the letter notes.
That money also is used to help fight California’s deadly wildfires, by paying for the maintenance of thousands of miles of forest roads.
The lawmakers said that failure to reauthorize the act, which will be off schedule by the end of January, “will be the death knell for our suffering rural communities.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Senate Republicans must join in condemning this reckless move by the president, or risk losing Congress’ most effective check on a run-away executive — the power of the purse — for good.”
- Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, in a statement responding to President Donald Trump’s federal spending freeze.
Best of The Bee:
As California burns, Trump freezes federal spending to investigate it for ‘wokeness,’ via Andrew Sheeler and David Lightman.
Trump says he sent the military into California to turn the water on. That didn’t happen, via Andrew Sheeler.