Mccain backs bill to permit transgender troops to serve

The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday backed legislation that would bar the Trump administration from forcing transgender troops out of the armed forces.

Sen. John Mccain of Arizona said in a statement that any service member, including those who are transgender, who meets the standards for military readiness and medical fitness should be permitted to serve.

“When less than 1 per cent of Americans are volunteering to join the military, we should welcome all those who are willing and able to serve our country,’’ he said.

The bill is an attempt to establish protections for transgender troops in law, cutting off President Donald Trump’s efforts to kick service members out based on their gender identity. Trump in July tweeted that he would ban transgender troops from serving anywhere in the U.S. military.

The directive caught the Pentagon flat-footed as defence officials struggled to explain what they called Trump’s guidance.

About a month later the president issued more formal instructions, directing the Pentagon to extend indefinitely a ban on transgender individuals joining the military.