EXCLUSIVE: Anti-Woke Caucus Says White House Must Clarify Stance on Trans Surgeries for Kids

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Republicans are calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to clarify the stance of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration regarding irreversible gender-transition surgeries for kids. 

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the chairman of the Anti-Woke Caucus, sent a letter to Becerra on Tuesday co-signed by GOP Reps. Claudia Tenney of New York, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina.

The letter highlights the Biden administration’s conflicting rhetoric surrounding attempted gender-transition procedures for children. 

“This radical, dangerous administration has done everything possible to promote unproven and damaging gender-transition surgeries, including pressuring a medical association to eliminate age requirements and sending the Justice Department to crackdown on whistleblowers working at a children’s hospital,” Banks told The Daily Signal. 

“I was surprised when, out of the blue, the White House told The New York Times they now oppose subjecting minors to these surgeries,” he added. “But then, after pressure from the transgender lobby, the White House seemed to walk back their earlier statement. The Biden-Harris administration needs to be straightforward with the American people and clarify whether they still think minors should be subject to mastectomies, castration, hysterectomies, and other life-altering procedures.” 

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks alongside Vice President Kamala Harris on April 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The letter reminds Becerra that although the White House had formerly supported performing gender-transition surgeries on minors through its insistent promotion of so-called gender-affirming care, The New York Times reported on June 28 that the Biden-Harris administration opposes “gender-affirming surgery for minors.” 

Yet shortly afterwards, the news outlet “The 19th” reported that the White House supported “gender-affirming care for minors like mental health care” before updating the story to say that the White House continues to “support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care.” 

And on top of this mixed messaging, the letter points out, White House Domestic Policy Council  Director Neera Tanden told the Human Rights Campaign that the Biden-Harris administration’s “position on health care for the transgender community has not changed” and that “families should have the freedom to make the medical decisions that they and their doctors determine are best for them—which is why we oppose attempts to limit health care for transgender individuals in the courts or through legislation.” 

“We are concerned that the Biden-Harris administration’s often contradictory statements, most notably its continued endorsement of ‘continuum of care,’ amounts to continuing to support the surgical mutilation of minors,” Banks and his colleagues said in the letter. 

“Admiral [Rachel] Levine’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health still maintains a document on its website entitled ‘Gender-Affirming Care and Young People,’” they note. “The document claims that gender-affirming care includes medical and surgical services. To our knowledge, Admiral Levine has not publicly disavowed support for performing irreversible transgender surgeries on children.”

The letter calls upon Becerra to address why the HHS website still supports attempted gender transitions on minors and whether HHS still believes that “gender-affirming care for minors should consist of an array of services, including medical and surgical services.” It also asks what prompted the statements reported by the previously mentioned news outlets, and how the Biden-Harris administration defines “continuum of care.” 

“Specifically, which of the following treatments, if any, can be safe and effective for children suffering from gender dysphoria,” it continues, before listing a number of highly invasive, so-called gender-affirming surgeries such as a vaginoplasty or a mastectomy. 

“Should the government play any role in regulating gender-transition treatments?” the letter asks. “If so, what is it?” 

The Biden-Harris administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

“Enough with all the flip-flopping,” Brecheen told The Daily Signal. “The American people need to know where the Biden-Harris administration stands on subjecting minors to transgender surgeries.”

“Too many children are at risk of falling victim to these dangerous surgeries for the Biden-Harris administration to not be straightforward with the American people,” he added.

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