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U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is at the receiving end of heavy backlash with threats to her political future after praising transgender “talent” in the U.S. military.

The Iowa Republican has sparked criticism for her non-committed stance on President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon in his administration. Her voting record and stance on key issues have come under increased scrutiny and now she is facing calls for Republicans to primary her out of office.

With the spotlight on the senator, Ernst sparked more outrage when past remarks about including transgender people in the military resurfaced this week. A video clip of the military veteran’s PBS interview from August hit social media with a bang as she responded to a question about whether the military “has become too woke.”

While she acknowledged that “there is civilian leadership of the military that is woke,” Ernst said on “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” that she didn’t feel the same way about “those [who] serve in uniform.”

“We have transgender people serving in our military. They will bleed red just as the rest of us,” said Ernst, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard.

“But I also take a stance that we should not be integrating transgender people into certain situations where it does make, if you have a female barracks and you have a transgender woman who has not transitioned, we shouldn’t make the rest of the unit uncomfortable about that setting,” she added. “There are certain accommodations we can make for that transgender individual.”

“But if they bring value to our unit, if they have specialties that we can use, especially if we want to maintain an all-volunteer force, we want to bring that talent into our services,” said the combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “And I know that’s controversial. But again, I’m looking at what’s good for our nation. And believe me, when we’re facing a recruiting challenge right now, if people are physically willing and able to serve our country, we want them to do so.”

A 2018 report titled, “Department of Defense Report and Recommendations on Military Service by Transgender Persons” found that “Transgender persons with gender dysphoria suffer from high rates of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.”

“Service members with gender dysphoria are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than service members as a whole (12% versus 1.5%),” the report also found. “Service members with gender dysphoria are nine times more likely to have mental health encounters than the service member population as a whole.”

The senator’s remarks have been unearthed at a time when she is under fire for not publicly endorsing Hegseth and earned more backlash on social media.

Frieda Powers
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