The U.S. House on Tuesday approved an
amendment that seeks to defund President Donald Trump's policy of
prohibiting transgender people from serving in the armed forces.
Introduced by Democratic
Representatives Anthony Brown of Maryland and Jackie Speier of
California, the measure, part of legislation for fiscal year 2020
seeking to fund parts of the government, including the Defense
Department, cleared the House with a 243-183 vote, the
Washington
Blade reported.
Nine Republicans – Representatives
Justin Amash (Mich.), Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Tom Emmer (Minn.),
Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Trey Hollingsworth
(Ind.), Will Hurd (Texas), John Katko (N.Y.) and Tom Reed (N.Y.) –
joined all but one Democrat, Representative Collin Peterson of
Minnesota, in voting for the legislation.
The amendment now heads to the
Republican-controlled Senate, where it faces a steep incline.
(Related: Trump
defends transgender troop ban: They take massive amounts of drugs.)
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
(GLAD) called Trump's ban “discriminatory” in a statement
congratulating the House on passage of the amendment.
“A policy
that turns away qualified, dedicated Americans who want to serve
their country is baseless, discriminatory, and ultimately weakens our
military,” said Jennifer Levi, director of the transgender rights
project at GLAD.