Fired under Trump, former military officers launch Democratic bids for Congress

Two officers who were pushed out of the military during President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House have launched new missions this week: running for Congress as Democrats.

A retired U.S. Space Force colonel, who was forced out of the military under the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members, announced a run for Congress in Northern Virginia. 

And a senior Navy official removed from her post last year by War Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a congressional bid in South Carolina.

Their candidacies highlight a growing political backlash to Trump-era military policies, as former officers removed from service look to re-enter public life through Congress.

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Bree Fram joined the U.S. Space Force in August 2021, where she rose to the rank of colonel. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order and the Pentagon, under Hegseth, issued guidance that barred most transgender people — including those with a diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria — from military service. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in March 2025 blocking enforcement, but courts later allowed the policy to move forward while litigation continued. According to Fram, she was placed on administrative leave in June 2025 pending separation, and was forced to retire at the end of 2025 due to presidential policy.

Fram pledged that “I’m not going to run away from my oath to the Constitution.”

In a campaign launch video posted on Tuesday, Fram said, “I served 23 years wearing the flag on my shoulder, reaching the rank of colonel. But then Donald Trump fired me, not because of my performance but because of who I am.”

Fram said she’s running for Congress “because too many Americans are afraid of what the federal government will do to them instead of being confident of what it can do for them.”

Virginia is likely to redraw its congressional map ahead of November’s midterm elections, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between Trump and Republicans versus Democrats. And Fram plans to run in whichever district she resides in once the new congressional lines are finalized.

Fram’s hometown of Reston, Virginia, is currently in the state’s 11th Congressional District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who last year won a special election in a landslide to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died from cancer in May. Walkinshaw was a former Connolly chief of staff.

In South Carolina, former three-star vice admiral Nancy Lacore on Tuesday jumped into the open seat race in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

Lacore, a 35-year military veteran who served as a Navy helicopter pilot and later as chief of the Navy Reserve, a 60,000-person force, was removed last August. The reason for her firing was not made clear, but it occurred as part of a high-profile leadership purge headed by Hegseth which included the dismissal of Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees Naval Special Warfare Command.

“After decades of service to our country, a career that started as a Navy pilot and finished as a three-star admiral, I was removed from my position without cause,” Lacore claimed in her campaign launch video.

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And she emphasized, “I still have more to give, more to fight for, more work to do — and I am not done serving.”

The War Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about Lacore’s claim.

Lacore joins a crowded field of Democrats and Republicans running to succeed three-term GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for South Carolina governor.

Democrats are aiming to flip the right-leaning coastal congressional district in the state’s Lowcountry.

“The South Carolina First isn’t a District that Democrats can concede if we’re going to build a lasting and winning coalition, and Nancy is the only candidate in a position to win,” said Matt Corridoni, a spokesperson for The Bench, a Democrat-aligned group that highlights it’s “building the next generation of Democratic leaders by recruiting and supporting great candidates in tough districts.”