--- title: John McCain Supports Transgender Military Protections Bill description: John McCain is co-sponsoring a bill in support of transgender soldiers just over a month after President Trump announced a ban canonical: https://time.com/4944393/john-mccain-transgender-ban-bill/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-15T20:51:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:51:49.920Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain Is Co-Sponsoring a Bill to Block Trump's Transgender Ban og:description: The proposed legislation is a bipartisan effort og:url: https://time.com/4944393/john-mccain-transgender-ban-bill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6f29a91553e30f5/6988dc44e76ad227b562f021/john-mccain-italy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3568 og:image:height: 2007 og:image:alt: Key Speakers At The Ambrosetti Forum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain Is Co-Sponsoring a Bill to Block Trump's Transgender Ban twitter:description: The proposed legislation is a bipartisan effort twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6f29a91553e30f5/6988dc44e76ad227b562f021/john-mccain-italy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain Is Co-Sponsoring a Bill to Block President Trump's Transgender Military Ban > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=37184104-8d31-409a-99f5-593f423bf36e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Here's Everything President Trump Has Said About the LGBT Community [Watch (HLS stream): Here's Everything President Trump Has Said About the LGBT Community](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ie4CgQPp.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2017-07-26. President Donald Trump announced in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. The move represents Trump’s latest flip-flop on his stance on LGBTQ rights_ by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Sep 15, 2017 8:51 PM UTC President Donald Trump announced in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. The move represents Trump’s latest flip-flop on his stance on LGBTQ rights by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Sep 15, 2017 8:51 PM UTC Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona is co-sponsoring a new bill in support of transgender people serving in the military after President Donald Trump [announced his transgender ban in July.](http://time.com/4875089/transgender-troops-trump-backfire/) The bipartisan bill, which is also sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) seeks to prevent the Department of Defense (DOD) from removing current service members solely on the basis of their gender identity. “When less than one percent of Americans are volunteering to join the military, we should welcome all those who are willing and able to serve our country,” McCain [said in a statement.](https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/senators-mccain-gillibrand-collins-reed-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-protect-transgender-service-members) “Any member of the military who meets the medical and readiness standards should be allowed to serve — including those who are transgender.” “The Senate Armed Services Committee will review the results of the DOD study on accession and will continue to work closely with our military leaders on any policy changes as we conduct oversight on this important issue,” McCain, who remains chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee [despite battling brain cancer](http://time.com/4894674/john-mccain-cancer-thank-you-video/), added. The proposed legislation does not outright guarantee the enlistment of transgender individuals who wish to serve in the military going forward, but it does require Defense Secretary James Mattis to conduct a study on the “future of recruitment,” as McCain put it in a tweet, as well as “express a sense of Congress that individuals who are qualified and can meet the standards to serve in the military should be eligible to serve,” according to a press release. > [](https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/908786026650521606) Trump’s ban was met with swift condemnation from many in Congress, along with military leaders. In August, 56 officers from the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard [signed a letter](http://time.com/4882553/transgender-military-ban-generals-admirals-letter/) speaking out against the order. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:07] You leave it the way it is. There have been very few [00:10] complaints the way it is. People go, they use the [00:13] bathroom that the feel is appropriate. So if Caitlyn [00:17] Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use [00:20] the bathroom, you would be fine with her using Any [00:23] bathroom she chooses? That is correct. A radical [00:26] Islamic terrorist targeted the night club. Not only [00:30] because he wanted to kill Americans, but in order to [00:33] execute gay and **** citizens, Because of their sexual [00:38] orientation. It's a strike at the heart and soul of who [00:42] we are as a nation. [ MUSIC ] [00:54] A friend of mine called up he said, you know you don't [00:56] get enough credit because in Palm Beach You opened [00:59] a club that nobody would do, nobody would do. And [01:04] it's open to everybody, it's open to everybody. And [01:08] a person, a member of the club, a great guy, who's [01:11] gay wrote this magnificent letter saying what Donald [01:15] Trump did nobody else would do. I will do everything [01:18] in my power to protect our LGBTQ [01:24] citizens from the violence and [01:30] oppression of a hateful foreign ideology. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:33] Believe me. [ APPLAUSE ] Do you support marriage [01:35] equality? It's irrelevant because it was already settled, [01:38] it's law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, [01:40] it's done. So even if you appoint a judge that- It's [01:44] done. You have these cases have gone to the Supreme [01:47] Court. They've been settled. [ MUSIC ] And I'm [01:52] fine with that. 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