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The Republican senator sticks his neck out for transgender service members, but it may not be enough to stopTrump's cruel order.
John McCain -- the most powerful GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee -- has joined a group of other legislators trying to thwart a ban on trans service members.
McCain announced on Friday he signed on to a bipartisan bill that would stop the forthcoming ban on transgender service members, something President Trump impulsively announced on Twitter in July. In joining the legislation, McCain joins two other Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, as well as moderate Republican senator Susan Collins of Maine.
McCain previously announced his opposition to Trump's prohibition.
"Any member of the military who meets the medical and readiness standards should be allowed to serve -- including those who are transgender," McCain said in a statement on Friday, as reported by the Washington Post.
The legislation is far from a sure thing, with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress.
Currently, transgender service members are not being actively removed from the military, at least until February 1 when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis finishes a six-month review on the matter. It's not clear if the bill pushed by McCain would allow out trans people to join the military, but Trump's ban would not.
