Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R) has voiced his support for President Donald Trump’s (R) recent executive order restricting transgender veterans' participation in military service.
The order states that service members who undergo gender transition surgery would not be considered deployable, citing concerns about military readiness.
During a recent interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, the Texas lawmaker defended the executive order, arguing that gender transition procedures hinder a service member's ability to remain deployable and, as a result, compromise military effectiveness.
I want to thank CNN for making me the face of common sense in the debate over transgenderism and military readiness.
After I defended President Trump’s EO—that service members who undergo gender transition surgery are not deployable and weaken military readiness—Kaitlan Collins… pic.twitter.com/QbkUmbrOJo
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) January 29, 2025
“By definition, if you have transitioned into another gender, you are not meeting our medical standards,” Rep. Crenshaw told Collins during their interview, but she questioned him, assuring that that’s his opinion.
In a social media post responding to Collins’ subsequent interview with Commander Emily Shilling, a transgender veteran, Rep. Crenshaw responded by writing, "I want to thank CNN for making me the face of common sense in the debate over transgenderism and military readiness."
"After I defended President Trump’s EO – that service members who undergo gender transition surgery are not deployable and weaken military readiness – Kaitlan Collins hosted a transgender activist the following night in an attempt to ‘debunk’ my factual position held by the majority of Americans," he continued.
The order states that “an adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individuals’ sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” which Collins and Commander Shilling both took issue with.
"Ironically, the person she interviewed underwent gender transition procedures AFTER his combat deployment, which only proves my point," Crenshaw said.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the executive order, Rep. Crenshaw remains firm in his position, claiming that the majority of Americans agree with him. "CNN still fails to understand that this is an 80/20 issue," Crenshaw wrote on social media. "But if they really want to continue this battle, I am happy to keep fighting it."
"Let’s say it again: THIS IS WHY YOU LOST LAST NOVEMBER," he concluded in his post.
