Earlier this month, President Donald Trump nominated Tennessee state senator Mark Green to be Secretary of the Army. Green has called transgender people “diseased,” “immoral,” and “evil,” and has also said that Muslims “don’t belong” in the United States. In his current role as a state senator, he has been a lead sponsor or co-sponsor of numerous anti-LGBT bills, including a North Carolina-style anti-transgender bathroom ban.
“Mark Green’s brand of bigotry is dishonorable and disgusting,” said NCTE Director of Policy Harper Jean Tobin. “President Trump is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel in selecting such a hateful nominee. Not only transgender and Muslim servicemembers, but also anyone who might be perceived as different, would have good reason to wonder how a leader who talks like this could possibly have their backs.”
