Lauren Boebert's Attack on Transgender Defense Official Sparks Backlash

Lauren Boebert has come under fire after describing Shawn Skelly, the transwoman who serves as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, as male and attempting to cut her salary to just $1 per year.

The Colorado Republican introduced an amendment to a defense spending bill in the House using the Holman rule, which allows Representatives to target individual federal employees for salary cuts.

In an unusual move the defense spending bill was initially blocked from even making its way to the floor in a procedural vote, usually a formality, with a small group of hardline Republican rebels joining Democrats to vote it down. It comes as the U.S. remains on the path to a partial government shutdown, which would see millions of federal workers furloughed, unless Congress can agree additional funding by the end of the month.

Speaking in the House on Wednesday Boebert referred to "Mr Skelly," misgendering the official, who she claimed "is failing at his job and the basic responsibilities."

Boebert continued: "On his watch the Army missed their recruiting goal by 15,000 soldiers last year, and all other branches were forced to dig deep into their pools of delayed entry applicants to meet their recruitment goals.

"As DOD's [Department of Defense's] highest-ranking trans official, this delusional man thinking he is a woman embodies and espouses the woke-ism that causes, that's causing, significant harm to our military readiness and troops' morale. The military shouldn't be focused on this woke agenda and combating climate change. With him at the helm of readiness, these misguided policy pursuits will continue to be at the forefront of DOD's priorities."

Democrat Representative Betty McCollum hit back, commenting: "I rise in the strongest opposition to this amendment. 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. Assistant Secretary Skelly is a naval fighter for over 20 years.

"The colleague who offers this amendment provides no real substantial 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. I have fought long and hard with many women before me and with our allies for pay equity."

Boebert responded by claiming "delusion runs deep in the Democrat Party" and said the military needs to "be lethal and able to defend our national security, not pander to the woke extremist left and make up fairy tales."

McCollum later continued the spat on X, formerly Twitter, accusing Republicans of "promoting their own extreme social agenda rather than our shared national security priorities" and adding Skelly "serves our nation with honor, and everyone deserves to be addressed & treated with dignity and respect."

On X Anthony Musa, a Democrat and vice president of the Capital Pride Alliance, also hit out at the Colorado Republica, commenting: "Assistant Secretary Skelly served 20 years in the Navy which is 20 years more than Lauren Boebert ever served this country. Absolutely disgusting and shameful behavior from a woman who has absolutely no shame."

Jennifer Bennon, an X user with over 41,000 followers who has endorsed the Democrats for the November 2024 elections, added: "Lauren Boebert made an amendment to reduce the salary for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness Shawn Skelly to $1, because Skelly is transgender.

"Boebert's supposed morality is laughable considering her recent public theater crotch rubbing performance."

This is a reference to events on September 10, when Boebert and a male companion were asked to leave a theater performance of Beetlejuice in Colorado after vaping, using a camera and "causing a disturbance." Surveillance footage later emerged showing the pair groping each other in the packed auditorium.

Boebert apologized for her actions, later telling Fox News's Jesse Watters that she was going through a "very difficult divorce" and describing the incident as "a lesson learned."

Whilst Boebert's amendment was successfully inserted into the bill, as was a similar one from Marjorie Taylor Greene cutting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's salary to $1, these measures have virtually no chance of making their way through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Newsweek has approached Rep. Boebert for comment by email.