House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Republican) on Tuesday lamented the inclusion of a provision prohibiting coverage of gender-specific care for minors in the annual defense authorization bill, saying Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican) I have not done so, consult him about this.
While Rogers did not dismiss the underlying policy, he argued that the provision that fueled partisan division over the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was unnecessary given that President-elect Trump would soon be returning to the White House.
“[Trump] will prevent all these social and cultural problems from being embedded in political measures. So my point is, I don’t know why that’s in the bill even though it’s a moot point on January 20th,” Rogers said Tuesday.
Asked whether he thought Johnson should not have introduced the provision, Rogers said: “He hasn’t talked to me about it.”
“I would have preferred if we had asked the president to do this on January 20,” Rogers said, “which he has already indicated.”
The house a procedural hurdle overcome for the NDAA early Tuesday, and it is expected to be passed in the chamber on Wednesday before being sent to the Senate.
“Typically we get a bipartisan product,” Rogers said. But on Wednesday, Rogers said, “It’s getting close.”
Text of the FY2025 NDAA The resolution, negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate, was published over the weekend. Johnson pointed to the provision that applies to TRICARE, the military health program, that states: “Medical procedures for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be offered to a child under 18 years of age.”
“We banned TRICARE from prescribing treatments that would ultimately sterilize our children, and we gutted the DEI bureaucracy,” Johnson said of the NDAA in a news conference Tuesday, using an acronym for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI ) programs.
But the provision faces significant opposition from Democrats, including ranking member of the House Defense Committee Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who said Tuesday that he would vote against the NDAA on transgender health care.
“It is wrong to blanketly deny health care to people who need it simply because of prejudicial attitudes toward transgender people,” Smith said in a statement. “The inclusion of this harmful provision endangers the lives of children and may force thousands of service members to choose to continue their military service or leave military service to ensure that their child receives the medical care they need.” From this Therefore, I will oppose final adoption of the FY25 NDAA in its current form.”
Smith also targeted Johnson.
“Speaker Johnson had a clear path to consider a bill that reflects the true spirit of bipartisan compromise that has ensured Congress has provided for the common defense for the past 63 years,” Smith said. “Instead of taking this path and ensuring that service members and service members receive the support they need and deserve, he has chosen to pander to the most extreme elements of his party in order to retain his position as Speaker.”
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a fiscal year 2025 version of the NDAA over the summer that included a number of “culture war” changes, including a provision that barred TRICARE from covering gender-affirming surgeries or hormone treatments, not just those for minors. Every Republican in the House, including Rogers, supported this amendment.
But Rogers apparently did not believe that similar provisions should be included in the final version.
Rogers said Smith’s opposition to the bill because of the provision did not surprise him.
“Adam [Smith] does exactly what I expect. I mean, he was very open about this,” Rogers said. “This stuff doesn’t belong in our bill.”
