Wednesday the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel held hearings regarding the Trump administration's reinstated ban on transgender servicemembers. One of the newly appointed members of the committee in attendance was New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland. In November, Haaland became one of two Native American women—both Democrats serving in the House—who made history as the first ever elected to Congress.

Kansas Representative Sharice Davids, Ho-chunk, and Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, share another commonality: both are the children of career military members. Davids' mother served in the Army while Haaland's father did 30 years in the Marine Corps and Haaland's mother was a member of the Navy.