{"id":234345,"date":"2024-06-20T18:08:09","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T22:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=234345"},"modified":"2024-06-20T18:08:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T22:08:30","slug":"military-draft-of-women-bill-triggers-major-political-firestorm-whos-really-behind-it-and-why-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=234345","title":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Military Draft of Women Bill Triggers Major Political Firestorm&#8212;Who&#8217;s really behind it and why now?<\/b><\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Firestorm erupts over requiring women to sign up for military draft<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->BY ALEXANDER BOLTON<br \/>\nThe Hill<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__text | body-copy | flow\">\n<p>Senate Democrats have added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives and complicating the chances of moving the bill on the Senate floor before Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives led by Sen.\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"17887\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/roger-wicker\/\">Roger Wicker\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(R-Miss.) are certain to attempt to remove the provision requiring women to register for the draft, which could present a tough vote for Sens.\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"6476\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/jon-tester\/\">Jon Tester\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(D-Mont.) and\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"45882\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/jacky-rosen\/\">Jacky Rosen\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(D-Nev.) and other Democrats in tight reelection races.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr1_ab-mr1_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1280,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[768,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[641,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr1_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Republican candidate Sam Brown, who is running against Rosen, is already making it an issue in the Nevada Senate race.<\/p>\n<p>Brown, an Army veteran who was severely burned by an improvised explosive device explosion, slammed Rosen in a video for voting to require women to sign up for the draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at my face. This is the high cost of war,\u201d he posted recently on the social platform X.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmy and I volunteered to serve, and we honor all who serve,\u201d he wrote, referring to his wife. \u201cBut forcing America\u2019s daughters to register for the draft is UNACCEPTABLE. Shame on Jacky Rosen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the video posted below those comments, Brown pointed to the scarring on his face as evidence of the dangers women would face in combat theaters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at my face. This is the high cost of war and I just found out that Jacky Rosen voted this week to make signing up for the draft mandatory for our daughters. You\u2019ll be hearing more from me on this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr2_ab-mr2_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1280,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[768,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[641,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr2_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Sen.\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"54981\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/josh-hawley\/\">Josh Hawley\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(R-Mo.) called the provision requiring women to sign up for the draft \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He accused the Biden administration of trying to implement a woke agenda at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be women in the draft. They shouldn\u2019t be forced to serve if they don\u2019t want to,\u201d he said on Fox News. He criticized Democrats for wanting to experiment with the military, saying \u201cnormal people are like, \u2018Leave our daughters alone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"civsci-id-civsci-id-596708068\" class=\"civic-science-article-container\" data-civicscience-widget=\"3f127ebd-287e-0b64-a901-d55ec286348a\">\n<div class=\"csw-wrapper\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"false\"><iframe id=\"csframe_3f127ebd-287e-0b64-a901-d55ec286348a_0\" class=\"csw-embed\" title=\"CivicScience Poll\" name=\"csframe_3f127ebd-287e-0b64-a901-d55ec286348a_0\" height=\"487px\" aria-label=\"CivicScience Poll\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hawley led efforts to strip language requiring women to sign up for the draft from the defense authorization bill in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n<p>A group affiliated with former Vice President Mike Pence also weighed in on the issue Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The group, Advancing American Freedom, wrote a letter to Senate Republican Leader\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"2058\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/mitch-mcconnell\/\">Mitch McConnell\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Ky.) and Speaker\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"50696\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/mike-johnson\/\">Mike Johnson\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(R-La.) declaring that \u201cthe notion of the United States of America requiring women to register to fight our wars is simply untenable and must be opposed at all costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr3_ab-mr3_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1280,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[768,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[641,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr3_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Wicker, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee,\u00a0said he\u2019ll try to strip it out of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m opposed to that. I don\u2019t think this is the time to get into a debate on the floor of either house about that. We\u2019re not anywhere near implementing a draft, and to me it\u2019s a distraction when we need to be talking about real issues that are immediate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope it will fall out, either on the floor or in conference,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr4_ab-mr4_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1280,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[768,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[641,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr4_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>But Senate Armed Services Committee Chair\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18675\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/jack-reed\/\">Jack Reed\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(D-R.I.) defended the proposed policy change, arguing that women can hold many warfighting positions without serving as front-line infantry troops.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWomen are doing a remarkable job in our forces today, and if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we go to a draft, that means we\u2019re in a serious, serious situation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr5_ab-mr5_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[0,0],[[300,250]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr5_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not like World War II where we need a lot of infantry. We need cyber experts, we need intelligence analysts, linguists, etc. Wait a second, there are a lot of women out there that can do this better than men,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n<p>He said the intense GOP opposition to the proposal \u201cjust doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate aides point out the issue cuts across party lines, with some Republicans generally supportive of requiring women to sign up for the Selective Service System, just like men when they turn 18.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr6_ab-mr7_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1280,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[768,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[641,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr6_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Senate Republicans are already raising doubts about whether Senate Majority Leader\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"11571\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/chuck-schumer\/\">Chuck Schumer\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(D-N.Y.) will even bring the bill to the floor anytime soon, given the dwindling number of days on the legislative calendar before the election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do hope we get to the floor. It\u2019s very important we have this debate publicly. \u2026 I hear rumblings that the Democratic leader may not bring it to the floor, I hope that can be reversed,\u201d Wicker said.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell on Monday urged Schumer to bring the defense bill to the floor \u201cwithout delay.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr7_ab-mr7_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;is_companion&quot;:true,&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[0,0],[[300,250]]]],&quot;size&quot;:[300,250]}\" data-unit=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/policy\/defense\" data-fbonly=\"false\" data-refids=\"\" data-not-refids=\"\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr7_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;defense&quot;}\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The Republican leader hailed the Senate Armed Services Committee for marking up the defense bill earlier this month but then suggested Democrats may drag out the process of bringing it to the floor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut shortly after the committee\u2019s action, senior Senate Democrats shattered any expectation that they were ready to start taking the requirements of the national defense seriously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Voting to require women to make themselves eligible for the draft could come back to bite Democrats in Republican-leaning or battleground states, such as Montana and Nevada.<\/p>\n<p>National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18846\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/steve-daines\/\">Steve Daines\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(R-Mont.) seized on the issue in the last Congress\u00a0when he backed an\u00a0amendment in 2022 to remove a provision requiring women to register for the Selective Service System from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrave Montana men and women carry out the Treasure State\u2019s rich legacy of service by voluntarily joining our nation\u2019s military. There is no need to force our nation\u2019s daughters to enter the draft,\u201d Daines said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Hawley offered an amendment to strike the women\u2019s draft language from the NDAA in 2021. His action put pressure on Democrats to ultimately remove the issue from the bill without voting on the amendment in December of that year.<\/p>\n<p>He also sponsored an amendment to the defense bill in 2022 to remove language requiring women to register for the Selective Service System, which was co-sponsored by Republican Sens.\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18649\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/ted-cruz\/\">Ted Cruz\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Texas),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18691\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/tom-cotton\/\">Tom Cotton\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Ark.),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18667\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/mike-lee\/\">Mike Lee\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Utah),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"13772\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Fla.),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"51104\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/roger-marshall\/\">Roger Marshall\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Kan.),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"18643\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/john-boozman\/\">John Boozman\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Ark.),\u00a0<span class=\"person-popover\" data-nid=\"21881\"><a class=\"person-popover__link\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/james-lankford\/\">James Lankford\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(Okla.) and Daines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft\/\">https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Firestorm erupts over requiring women to sign up for military draft<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=234345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=234345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}