Col. Bree Frum, a former Space Force officer forced to retire due to the Trump administration’s ban on transgender military personnel, has launched a campaign for a Virginia state representative, raising more than $102,000 in her first 24 hours as an official candidate.
Frum, an engineer by trade, served in the military for 23 years, including deployments with the U.S. Air Force to Iraq and Qatar during the Iraq War. She then became an officer in the U.S. Space Force, becoming the first transgender military member to be promoted to colonel in 2024. She was also included in Out magazine’s “Out 100”. list Number of influential LGBTQ people in that year.
Frum, who came out as transgender in 2016, was forced to retire last year under President Trump’s latest military ban after a federal court rejected an injunction, following the first Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members and the Biden administration.
Announcing a 24-hour fundraising drive backed by more than 400 individual donors from 43 states, Frum, 46, thanked supporters for their generosity and said in a news release that the response reflected Americans’ eagerness to “turn the page on chaos, revenge, and attacks on personal freedom.”
The Reston resident has officially filed to run for the 11th Congressional District, based in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he will compete against U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw, a one-term congressman who was also chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died last year. Walkinshaw won a special election to replace Connolly and received 75% of the vote in the general election.
But Frum noted that the Virginia Democratic Party’s federal redistricting efforts — proposed in response to Republican redistricting efforts in states like Texas, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina in the middle of the decade — could place him in a different district. She said she plans to apply for the district where Reston will be placed once the 2026 map is completed.
“I’m not running on an identity-driven platform,” she said. inside nova. “I am running on a platform that values service and character, and that protects our fundamental rights, especially a strong democracy, including freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, which are currently under great threat.”
“I think there are 17 things that are far more interesting about me and who I am, and I just happen to be transgender,” she said. WUSA9. “I’m a rocket scientist. I’m a military veteran. I’m an engineer who developed technology to keep Americans safe. I’m a parent. I’m a skier, a hiker, a mother, and there’s so much more to me than being transgender. My experience of being evicted drives me to fight for an America that protects the dignity of all people.”
Frum is planning a campaign to restore defunct coronavirus-era subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, saying it’s important for people to have more affordable health insurance so they can see a doctor and get the care they need. A mother of two, she values education as a top priority.
In an interview with defenderInstead of scaring people, Frum emphasized restoring democratic guardrails and ensuring government works effectively for the people. She said Congress should use its investigative and oversight powers more aggressively to curb what she described as the current administration’s worst excesses, and that protections for civil liberties, including First Amendment rights, are non-negotiable.
Frum told WUSA9 that because she is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice after her retirement, she could be targeted by the Trump administration for speaking out or opposing administration policies, as Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) was.
“Can they sue me on completely trumped up and false charges? Of course,” she said. “Is it a concern? Yes. Can it be stopped? No. This administration must be confronted and called out every moment it lies and abuses its power.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
