House Passes Defense Bill With a Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

Eighty-one Democrats voted alongside Republicans to pass the NDAA.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The House has passed the National Defense Authorization Act, with 81 Democrats voting alongside the vast majority of Republicans, despite the inclusion of a provision to prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care under the military’s health insurance system.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that he told House Democrats to vote for what they thought was best for their district.

“We’re not whipping on the National Defense Authorization Act,” Jeffries said Wednesday. “It’s a member-to-member, case-by-case analysis.”