President Joe Biden said he “strongly opposes” a section of a bill that would strip funding for gender care for trans kids in military families, but signed it anyway.
The National Defense Authorization Act gives $895 billion to the Department of Defense, State Department, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies, as well as national security programs at the Department of Energy.
The bill was passed with bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Normally, this would be a straightforward funding bill, but earlier this month, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) added a provision blocking TRICARE, which funds health care for service members, from paying for gender-affirming care for children.
This will affect approximately 2,500 trans kids, according to Newsweek. READ MORE: Lone Dissenter Calls Texas Supreme Court Transgender Ruling ‘Cruel, Unconstitutional’ Biden signed the bill on Monday, although called out that section in a statement. “My Administration strongly opposes Division A, title VII, subtitle A, section 708 of the Act, which inhibits the Department of Defense’s ability to treat all persons equally under the law, no matter their gender identity.