House rebukes Trump over transgender military ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has rebuked President Donald Trump by voting against his administration’s move to restrict transgender men and women from military service.

A non-binding resolution opposing Trump’s transgender ban passed 238-185 on Thursday. Every Democrat supported the resolution, while nearly every Republican voted against it.

The Trump administration’s policy bars people who have undergone gender transition from enlisting. It also requires military personnel to serve as their biological gender unless they began a gender transition under less restrictive Obama administration rules.

The policy is being challenged in court.

Rep. Joe Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and the resolution’s sponsor, says Trump’s policy amounts to “targeted discrimination.” He says the House vote sends a message to transgender people “that they cannot be banned from military service because of who they are.”