Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst Endorsed Transgender Military Service
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, previously endorsed allowing trans-identifying individuals to serve in the U.S. military, a position military specialists and reports have warned hampers the force’s overall readiness.
The recently unearthed revelation stems from comments the GOP senator made during an Aug. 9 interview on PBS’s “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.” The host asked Ernst, an Army veteran, whether she agrees with Republicans’ sentiment that the military “has become too woke.”
Ernst said she doesn’t believe “those [who] serve in uniform” are woke but admitted that “there is civilian leadership of the military that is woke.” She then cited trans-identifying individuals serving in the armed forces as an example of those “in uniform,” and expressed belief that those who qualify should be permitted to serve in the military.
“We have transgender people serving in our military. They will bleed red just as the rest of us,” Ernst said.
The Iowa Republican subsequently pushed the baseless claim that a person can “transition” into the opposite sex, saying she doesn’t think the military should be “integrating transgender people into certain situations,” such as allowing “a transgender woman who has not transitioned” into female barracks.
“[W]e shouldn’t make the rest of the unit uncomfortable about that setting,” Ernst said. “There are certain accommodations we can make for that transgender individual.”
Ernst concluded her comments on the topic by once again advocating for permitting trans-identifying individuals to serve in the armed forces.
“But if they bring value to our unit, if they have specialties that we can use, especially if we want to maintain an all-volunteer force, we want to bring that talent into our services,” she said. “And I know that’s controversial. But again, I’m looking at what’s good for our nation. And believe me, when we’re facing a recruiting challenge right now, if people are physically willing and able to serve our country, we want them to do so.”
Military specialists and analyses have long highlighted the negative impact authorizing Americans who identify as “transgender” to serve has on military readiness.
Thomas Spoehr, former director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, previously noted that the Biden-Harris administration’s “decision to allow unrestricted service by transgender individuals — without regard to whether they suffer from gender dysphoria — ignores medical evidence that transgender individuals with gender dysphoria have a much greater risk of mental injury and disability, and are not qualified for military service.”
“The change will also result in a direct negative impact on military readiness linked to service members who are less able to deploy and perform their individual missions,” Spoehr wrote. “The decision also directly exposes individuals who are at higher risk from mental injury to increased stress and danger.”
A 2018 Defense Department study reportedly found that “[t]ransgender persons with gender dysphoria suffer from high rates of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders,” and “[s]ervice members with gender dysphoria are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than service members as a whole (12% versus 1.5%).” Service members with gender dysphoria were also “nine times more likely to have mental health encounters than the service member population as a whole.”
“If those with gender dysphoria are at a much higher risk of suicide, crippling anxiety or other mental breakdowns than their peers, those serving next to them will be reluctant to rely on them,” Spoehr wrote of the study. “Permitting them to serve also violates the principle of not placing individuals at greater risk of injury in harm’s way.”
Ernst’s PBS interview is not the first instance in which she has publicly voiced support for permitting trans-identifying people into the military.
During a March 2018 appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” the Iowa Republican expressed support for allowing trans-identifying individuals who are “physically fit and … meet the mental standard” to serve.
“[I]f there are transgenders that … meet those qualifications certainly I would gladly have them serving in our United States military,” Ernst said.
In 2017, Ernst notably broke with President Donald Trump’s decision to prohibit gender dysphoric individuals from the U.S. armed forces. An Ernst spokeswoman reportedly told the Des Moines Register that while the GOP senator believes “taxpayers shouldn’t cover the costs associated with a gender reassignment surgery, Americans who are qualified and can meet the standards to serve in the military should be afforded that opportunity.”
Ernst’s unearthed remarks come the same week multiple sources within Trump world told The Federalist the Iowa Republican has been leading an “aggressive” personal jihad against Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary nominee.
“She’s waging a campaign to replace Pete with herself,” a Trump source familiar with her phone calls to Trump said.
Ernst has refused to publicly endorse Hegseth’s nomination, even after meeting with the Army veteran and former Fox News host on Wednesday. During a Thursday appearance on Fox’s “America’s Newsroom,” the senator signaled she is not ready to vote “yes” on his confirmation.
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