AMY GOODMAN: We only have a few minutes, and we want to get to the testosterone tests of service members. We want to get to ICE. But first, Congressmember Jayapal, I want to ask you about Israel. On Wednesday, you joined over 100 other Democrats — that’s more than half the Democrats who voted — to support a measure slashing military funding to Israel. The amendment proposed by Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie would eliminate $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military assistance to Israel. Notable Democrats voting to cut the funding included the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Can you talk about the significance of this shift? More than half the Democrats who voted voted to end military funding of Israel, except for the Iron Dome.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: It is a sea change, Amy. As you know, I was one of the first Democrats to call for ending military assistance, to call out the genocide in Gaza that is being perpetrated by the Israeli government, to call out the violence in the West Bank by the IDF and by settlers. And this is the first time in Congress where members of Congress, over half of the Democratic caucus, has responded to the pleas and the cries and the energy and organizing across the country to stop using our taxpayer dollars to send more bombs to kill children in Gaza and to commit this genocide. And so, it is really significant.

I don’t think — sadly, I think this only was possible because the genocide occurred. That’s something that our colleague Rashida Tlaib said, and it sticks with me every moment that I talk about this issue, because, you know, it is the horror of what has unfolded that has finally allowed us to confront the fact that we should not be using taxpayer dollars to send to Israel to perpetrate this kind of violence.

So, the fact that over half of the Democratic caucus voted for this, I think, sends a new message to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government that they are not going to continue to get this kind of assistance. Delia Ramirez’s bill, that I co-lead, called Block the Bombs, now has over 80 co-sponsors on it, and that blocks any offensive weapons funding to Israel. So I think we are moving forward, and I want people across the country to know that their organizing matters, their voices matter. And yesterday you saw it in this vote in Congress.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, we want to go to the issue now of testosterone. The Pentagon has announced plans to screen the testosterone levels of service members over the age of 30 and will offer voluntary replacement therapy to those with a low T-score. The initiative was announced Wednesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who’s branded the Pentagon as the “High-T Department of War.” It’s not clear what will happen to women in the military. This comes after Hegseth last year ordered a halt to all gender-affirming medical procedures for service members and removed openly transgender troops from the U.S. military. So, Congressmember Jayapal, if you could comment on that? I mean, even medical professionals who concede that there might be some loss of muscle mass, etc., in men after the age of 30 say that there is a very high risk of young men taking testosterone, becoming infertile, and also increasing cardiovascular health risks.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Yes, this is — I mean, it would be absurd and laughable if it wasn’t so serious on many counts. Number one, the medical issues that you have identified with forcing people to take testosterone. Number two, the hypocrisy in banning trans service members and then prescribing testosterone for members of the military. It’s not clear whether that’s male members or male and female members.

Number three, the idea that — you know, yesterday in Judiciary, we had an anti-trans bill that essentially criminalizes gender-affirming care. Well, providing testosterone is actually gender-affirming care, if it was under consent of the individuals who were there. There are situations where it is prescribed with a doctor. This is what providing gender-affirming care is. And so, while they are attacking trans people for getting gender-affirming care, they are at the same time imposing this requirement for testosterone on members of the military.

And I warned my Republican colleagues yesterday in committee: They better watch what they vote for, because this kind of intrusive behavior, where the government is getting involved in prescribing what medication you do or don’t take, without your consent, without the consent of doctors, the screening, invasive screenings of people to determine what their hormone levels are — are they actually male? I asked my colleagues on Judiciary to think about if they want to have their testosterone levels checked and testosterone provided. So, there’s so many hypocrisies and absurdities about this, but it is dangerous.

AMY GOODMAN: So, not only a “High-T Department of War,” but a high-T Congress.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Imagine that.