Democrat Issues Warning Over Defense Bill: ‘Troubled by That’

A leading Democrat representative has said he may not vote for the House defense bill because of a Republican provision blocking medical treatments for transgender children of military personnel.

The $895-billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which typically passes easily each year with bipartisan support, is set to go to a vote next week.

On Saturday, Washington Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico that by including the transgender provision, Republicans were “taking advantage of a partisan wedge issue,” which “violates a principle” of keeping divisive, partisan issues out of the bill.

The provision prevents Tricare, the U.S. military healthcare program for personnel and their families, from undertaking procedures for children that could result in sterilization.

It states, “Medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18,” referring to the transgender children of service members.

Smith said that the provision suggested bias against transgender people.

“At the end of the day, you still have language in the bill that says we’re going to blanketly deny healthcare to people who clearly need it, just because of a sort of biased notion against the trans community,” Smith said. “And I’m troubled by that.”

Speaker Mike Johnson told The Daily Wire on Saturday that the provision was a “critical and necessary step” in the fight against “radical gender ideology.”

“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to support procedures and treatments that could permanently harm and sterilize young people,” Johnson told The Daily Wire. “In this year’s NDAA, we’re taking a critical and necessary step to protect the children of American service members from radical gender ideology and experimental drugs.”

He continued, “House Republicans will continue to take action to protect America’s kids.”

Newsweek has contacted Smith and Johnson’s offices via email for comment.

The legality of medical procedures for transgender people, especially for children, was an issue that Republicans clashed Democrats with throughout the 2024 election, where the GOP won back the White House, the Senate, and held the House.

Johnson intends to present the defense bill on the House floor next week, using a procedural rule that requires the legislation to first pass a typically partisan procedural vote before it can be approved by a majority of lawmakers.

With their slim, seven-seat majority, Republicans can only afford three defectors in a party-line vote.

Democrats, who are opposed to the bill’s language on transgender issues, will hope enough Republicans break ranks to derail the legislation, leaving open the possibility of it needing to be reintroduced with the transgender children provision removed.