Lauren Boebert calls trans defense official a “delusional man” & says her salary should lower to $1

In a speech on the House floor, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-GA) attacked the highest-ranking transgender official in the Department of Defense (DOD), misgendering her and denigrating her trans identity while introducing an amendment calling for her salary to be decreased to a single dollar.

Boebert said Assistant Secretary of Defense Shawn Skelly, a trans woman, is “failing at his job and the basic responsibilities” before calling her a “delusional man thinking he is a woman” who “embodies and espouses the woke-ism that’s causing significant harm to our military readiness and troops’ morale.”

Related:

Marjorie Taylor Greene says Ukraine is sex trafficking kids & selling their organs

She simultaneously repeated Russian disinformation and QAnon conspiracy theories during a protest on the Capitol steps.

When she proposed the salary be reduced to a dollar, she smirked happily.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

“The military shouldn’t be focused on this woke agenda and combating climate change,” Boebert continued. “With Mr. Skelly at the helm of readiness, these misguided policy pursuits will continue to be at the forefront of DOD’s priorities. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to restore the focus of our Department of Defense, to defend our nation.”

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) then spoke in opposition to Boebert, saying that “people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect when being addressed.”

“Assistant Secretary Skelly has served in her role admirably, as she has done as her time as a naval officer,” McCollum added. “Assistant Secretary Skelly is a naval fighter for over 20 years… The colleague who offers this amendment provides no real substantive reason why Assistant Secretary Skelly should have her salary reduced. There is only one reason why Assistant Secretary Skelly is being targeted, because she is simply a woman.”

McCollum emphasized her everytime the pronoun came up in her speech.

“I have fought long and hard with many women before me and with our allies for pay equity,” she added. “We still have a long way to go, but I’m never going to vote to reduce a woman’s salary.”

Boebert responded with a slew of anti-trans remarks.

“I guess delusion runs deep in the Democrat Party. I would go on the record to say that science is a friend in this case and, sure, if you want to call Mr. Skelly a her, his chromosomes are still XY, and we trust the science over here rather than delusion and playing dress up and imaginary games with our military readiness. Our military needs to be lethal and able to defend our national security, not pander to the woke extremist left and make up fairy tales.”

After McCollum then said she refused to engage in hateful rhetoric, Boebert replied, “There’s nothing hateful about truth.”

House Republicans have recently opposed so-called “wokeness” in the military and added numerous anti-LGBTQ+ amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that funds the U.S. military.

The Republicans amendments in the $886 billion NDAA would defund gender-affirming healthcare for service members and their families, ban drag shows and the flying of Pride flags on military installations, and block the Department of Defense’s (DOD) educational arm from purchasing any books on “gender ideology” (that is, gender identity and transgender issues).

Skelly was the second out transgender person ever confirmed by the Senate. She’s a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander and former Director of the Executive Secretariat in the Department of Transportation under the Obama administration. She is also a former special assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

After serving in the Department of Transportation, Skelly was appointed to the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service — which reviewed and considered changes to the Selective Service agency — at the end of Obama’s last term. She was the first trans veteran to receive a presidential appointment.

She served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and earned a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval College. She is also a co-founder of the non-profit affinity group Out in National Security. In November, she was named as a member of then President-elect Biden’s Defense Department transition team.