Today, the U.S. Senate approved its annual defense spending bill, including a provision prohibiting taxpayer funding for sterilizing sex-change procedures on minors through the military’s healthcare program. The legislation passed by a 85-14 vote.

Although a group of Democrats led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) attempted to remove the provision, their amendment to do so did not receive a vote.

In response, Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project (APP) released the following statement applauding the result:

“Today’s Senate vote marks a historic victory for American families and a significant defeat for the transgender industry.

“The momentum to protect children is growing every day. Twenty-five states have acted to restrict sterilizing and mutilating sex-change procedures for minors, with other countries like Great Britain also following suit. Providers of this horrific malpractice are now facing costly lawsuits by detransitioners who have been permanently harmed by the so-called ‘care’ they received. And in this year’s election, voters handed Donald Trump and Republicans a clear mandate to end the far left’s gender insanity, including in medicine.

“It is noteworthy that Senate Democrats decided to advance this bill without seriously attempting to restore the sex-change funding. Even they seem to be realizing that the American people firmly oppose the transgender industry and that it would be political suicide for them to overtly signal their support for such an unpopular and obviously destructive movement.

“We once again thank Speaker Mike Johnson for his strong leadership in ensuring this commonsense measure was included in the legislation. And we encourage Republicans to continue to prioritize protecting kids from these dangerous practices as we head into the next Congress.”

To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or paul@americanprinciplesproject.org.