Women have served in combat for a decade. Lawmakers want to protect that right.

Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that would codify women’s right to serve in combat. The legislation, called the “Women Add Resourcefulness and Resilience to Improve Operational Readiness Act” or the WARRIOR Act, would reinforce a long-standing principle in the military: standards must be based on the demands of the job, not gender. 

“We have a secretary of defense who I think wants to justify removing women from combat roles in all of our services,” Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, one of the bill’s lead sponsors, told The 19th. “And this is particular to him. He has this notion that somehow women in these roles is compromising our readiness.” 

Hirono pointed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s review of women in combat, which was announced publicly in January. The goal was to assess the “operational effectiveness of ground combat units 10 years after the Department lifted all remaining restrictions on women serving in combat roles.” 

In the past decade, more than 5,000 women have served in combat roles. And the occupation standards for these roles have always been gender neutral by law, despite Hegseth’s false insistence that requirements were lowered for women and that there were quotas made for women. 

In March, Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she questioned the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force — people responsible for the readiness of their services — and asked them  if there is any evidence that women in combat roles have compromised national security or readiness. Under sworn testimony, they each said no. 

Still, Hegseth had called for a review of the issue. The combat study was originally going to be conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses before it was transferred to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, with Jane Pinelis as the lead researcher. Pinelis conducted a similar study for the Marine Corps in 2015 and concluded then that women shouldn’t serve in combat roles. Her methodology and study design were widely criticized, but Hegseth drew heavily on the study in his book, “The War on Warriors,” to support his opinion that women should not serve in combat.   

“As far as I’m concerned, the only person who doesn’t think that women should have the opportunity to serve in these roles is Hegseth,” Hirono said. “And that’s why I am concerned about the results of a study being done by a person that he thinks is going to substantiate his perspective.” 

The year-long study is set to conclude in December. 

If passed, the bill would prohibit gender discrimination when it comes to military occupational specialty, career field or assignment. It would also remove outdated language to ensure all positions are explicitly open to men and women. It would mandate that occupational standards reflect the requirements of the job, standards that would be developed through a scientifically rigorous process. It would expand congressional review of proposed changes, including requiring the Department of Defense to submit annual reports justifying all personnel decisions. It would require service members in good standing to have at least 18 months to meet new and revised standards. And it would require Hegseth submit to Congress the full, unredacted study on combat unit effectiveness in December.

“This bill would make very clear that anyone who meets the requirements to serve in these roles should have that opportunity because all of our services welcome people who want to serve our country,” Hirono said. 

The new bill also comes after Hegseth, in a highly unusual move, blocked the promotions of dozens of Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals. The decision disproportionately targeted women and minority officers and appeared to be driven by an anti-diversity stance rather than merit. For the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty women Navy officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year. In addition, last year Hegseth fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the Navy, without giving a reason. And as part of a broader attempt to rid the Pentagon of diversity, equity and inclusion, the military flagged more than 26,000 images largely related to women and minority milestones for removal from its websites and social media accounts. 

The bill’s other sponsors include Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Chuck Schumer of New York, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Patty Murray of Washington, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Companion legislation was also introduced in the House. 

Hirono said she was unable to get enough Republican support to include this bill as a provision in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, one of the largest and most reliable bipartisan bills passed every year in Congress. 

Sue Fulton, the executive director of Women in the Service Coalition Inc. (WiSCI), said that women play critical roles across the U.S. military, including in ground combat arms, and are integral to our military readiness.

“Removing qualified women from these roles would disrupt units, damage morale, gut retention and recruiting and send an anti-women message with far-reaching impact across the force,” Fulton said in a statement. “WiSCI supports the WARRIOR Act to ensure that changes in personnel policy are based on evidence of impact to combat capability and not bias.”

Lindsay Church, the executive director of Minority Veterans of America, issued a statement saying that service members have been meeting rigorous, job-specific standards for decades, particularly in operational and combat roles where requirements are tied to mission demands.

“This legislation affirms that service members must meet the standards required to succeed in today’s military,” she said, “and recognizes that excellence is defined by skill, performance and ability, not gender.”