John McCain Says ‘Any American Who Meets Current Medical & Readiness Standards Should Be Allowed to Continue Serving’
Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, who vehemently opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010 Wednesday morning released a statement rebuking President Donald Trump’s stunning decree hours earlier that transgender service members are now banned from serving in the U.S. military in any capacity. Sen. McCain is the Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, and neither he nor his Committee, which has legislative oversight of the Pentagon, were informed or consulted before Trump dropped his bombshell announcement.Â
There are an estimated 10-15,000 active duty transgender service members in today’s armed forces.
Senator McCain appears to be attempting to put the brakes on Trump’s policy.
In his official statement, McCain chastises the Commander-in-Chief, saying Trump’s “tweet this morning regarding transgender Americans in the military is yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter.”
Calling Trump’s policy-via-tweet “unclear,” Chairman McCain says the “Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today. Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of their gender identity.”
“We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so—and should be treated as the patriots they are,” McCain says, in a sharp move away his position just seven years ago on gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members.
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“The Department of Defense is currently conducting a study on the medical obligations it would incur, the impact on military readiness, and related questions associated with the accession of transgender individuals who are not currently serving in uniform and wish to join the military. I do not believe that any new policy decision is appropriate until that study is complete and thoroughly reviewed by the Secretary of Defense, our military leadership, and the Congress.”
Sign the petition:Â Tell President Trump You Support Our Transgender Service Members and Oppose His New Ban
“The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to follow closely and conduct oversight on the issue of transgender individuals serving in the military.”
President Trump on Tuesday praised McCain:
Many on the left are furious with Senator McCain, who flew to D.C. Tuesday to cast a vote to allow the process to repeal ObamaCare to begin. The Arizona Republican was just diagnosed with brain cancer after having a blood clot above his eye removed.
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Image:Â U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Johnny Bivera via Wikimedia