President Biden Ramps Down His Fight For Trans Protections In His Final Weeks In Office

National Defense Authorization Act strips trans kids of vital insurance coverage

Liam Clymer

Published: December 31, 2024 | Last Updated: December 31, 2024

As President Joe Biden enters the last few weeks of his term, his fight to protect transgender Americans has wavered.

On Dec. 23, Biden signed into law a $895 billion Pentagon policy bill; in doing so, he signed the first federal anti-LGBTQ+ bill in decades.

After much back and forth between Democrats and Republicans, the National Defense Authorization Act passed both the House and Senate. One critical topic of debate was the included provision restricting the military’s insurance Tricare from paying for gender-affirming care.

The anti-trans provision remained after negotiations in both chambers led to the removal of anti-abortion efforts and attempts to promote diversity and inclusion in the military.

Despite signing the bill, Biden said he “strongly opposes” restrictions on gender-affirming care in a statement he released later that day.

“By prohibiting the use of appropriated funds, the Department of Defense will be compelled to contravene clinical practice guidelines and clinical recommendations. The provision targets a group based on that group’s gender identity and interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children,” he said. "This section undermines our all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain the finest fighting force the world has ever known by denying health care coverage to thousands of our service members’ children."

This comes after the U.S. Department of Education formally withdrew a proposed rule that would protect transgender athletes' right to play by expanding the protections of Title IX.

The proposal would’ve kept schools from being able to deny students the ability to play on an athletic team that aligned with their gender identity. With the rule first being drafted in April 2023, this marks a loss in an over-a-year-long effort.

When news of the rule first broke, transgender advocates were quick to note that the language used would leave the rule open to weaponization, if Trump were to return to power. As drafted, it included restrictions in order to “minimize harms to students whose opportunity to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity would be limited or denied.”

Whether the withdrawal of this proposed bill was intentional in order to avoid weaponization or not is not confirmed. However, Trump will be returning to power in January, and his return comes with a promise of attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.

Importantly, LGBTQ+ individuals are not alone in this tumultuous time — organizations across the state of Michigan are providing resources and support to continue fighting.