The Trump administration’s decision to remove certain books from Department of Defense school libraries has left many Democrats crying foul, claiming such supposed book bans were antithetical to the country’s values.

However, two House Democrats, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), have introduced legislation to overturn the literary restrictions. The “Stop Censoring Military Families Act” is meant to restore approximately 600 book titles that were removed from DOD schools at the request of the Trump administration after President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. 

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The legislation asks “the Secretary of Defense to restore access to curricula, books, and other learning materials at schools operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity, and for other purposes,” pulled after Trump’s second term began.

“For too long, the Trump administration has made military families ground zero for their culture wars,” Houlahan said in a statement. “It is disturbing that the President and Secretary Hegseth have decided to deprive DoDEA students of books and curricula because they don’t meet the Administration’s partisan, inaccurate version of American society and history.”

“Students attending DODEA schools want to go to class and learn, not be used as political pawns of the Trump Administration’s censorship regime,” said Raskin.

The president issued two executive orders in January aimed at removing what his administration identified as left-wing indoctrination: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” and “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” 

“Parents trust America’s schools to provide their children with a rigorous education and to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation and the values for which we stand,” read Trump’s directive about indoctrination in K-12 schooling. “In recent years, however, parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”  

“Such an environment operates as an echo chamber, in which students are forced to accept these ideologies without question or critical examination,” read the executive order.

These views were in stark contrast to Raskin and Houlahan, who argued returning the books to the schools would be part of an inclusive educational experience. 

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“My legislation with Ranking Member Raskin is simple: stop the book bans at military schools, and put the libraries and lesson plans back where they belong—in the hands of teachers and families. It is long past time that the oversight of these schools return to the depoliticized process it was always meant to be,” Houlahan said.

“I am glad to partner with Rep. Houlahan to reverse MAGA book bans, defend teachers and librarians and protect the fundamental American freedom to read,” Raskin added.