Washington, D.C. – After facing pushback in Congress, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are pushing to force America’s daughters into future wars by expanding selective service draft registration to include women.
As conflicts continue in Ukraine and Israel, a contentious debate has emerged in the United States over a proposal to require women to register for the military draft. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), recently passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, includes a provision that would add women to the draft list requirement for the first time since the creation of the Selective Service in 1917.
This perennial proposal has faced significant opposition, notably from former President Donald Trump, who has long defended the male-only draft system. In 2019, the Trump administration appealed a federal court ruling that deemed the male-only draft unconstitutional on the grounds of sex discrimination. The appeal aimed to either uphold the current system or push for the elimination of mandatory draft registration entirely.
The current push for including women in the draft is championed by several Democratic senators, including:
- Jack Reed, D-RI
- Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH
- Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-NY
- Richard Blumenthal, D-CT
- Mazie K. Hirono, D-HI
- Tim Kaine, D-VA
- Angus King, I-ME
- Elizabeth Warren, D-MA
- Gary C. Peters, D-MI
- Joe Manchin III, D-WV
- Tammy Duckworth, D-IL
- Jacky Rosen, D-NV
- Mark Kelly, D-AZ
Donald Trump Jr. has also voiced strong opposition to the proposal, criticizing Democrats for what he views as an unnecessary and dangerous policy. “Democrats want to draft your daughters to fight the wars that no one in America outside of the military industrial complex wants to be in. But hey, at least they’ll get a board seat at Raytheon or Lockheed Martin, while our kids die as cannon fodder for no apparent reason,” Trump Jr. tweeted.
The debate highlights the broader tensions and differing perspectives on gender equality in military service and the role of the Selective Service in contemporary American society. As the NDAA heads to the Senate floor, the proposal’s fate remains uncertain, with strong opinions on both sides of the issue.