WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) led 58 members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, House Democrats, and Democratic Senators in a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) Acting Inspector General demanding accountability for the Army’s failure to stop widespread sexual misconduct.
Recently, over 80 women joined a lawsuit alleging that Dr. Major Blaine McGraw made sexual advances, directed lewd comments towards them, and secretly recorded patients during exams while working at Ford Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center. This included at least 10 patients McGraw saw in Hawaii when he served as a resident at Tripler Army Medical Center from 2019-2023. Dr. McGraw was not suspended from his position until October 2025.
“No woman should feel unsafe receiving medical care, especially during sensitive and private health services. Yet, far too many survivors have come forward with their experiences of alleged exploitation and abuse by a doctor who reportedly violated not just the basic principles of medical care and human decency, but also the expected conduct of a U.S. Army officer and physician,” said Senator Hirono. “The Department of Defense and U.S. Army must take accountability for their failure to rapidly respond to servicemembers and patient complaints. While nothing can reverse the harm reported by patients, a comprehensive investigation into this alleged misconduct, resulting in stronger protections for patients, is necessary to ensure that no one experiences abuse by our military health system again.”
In their letter, the lawmakers expressed their outrage over Army leadership’s inaction despite numerous complaints from servicemembers and their families that Dr. McGraw had sexually exploited patients in his care for years. They also explained some of the unconscionable abuses women experienced, including details from the story of Jane Doe.
The lawmakers shared how the Army ignored Jane Doe’s attempts to report her abuse:
“After reportedly being assaulted during a patient visit with Dr. McGraw, Jane Doe said she begged a desk attendant to make a report. Instead, she was told to ‘call or send an email.’ Jane Doe alleges she called the hospital seven different times but she was dismissed and hung up on each time. The purported lack of response and urgency to respond to these complaints would clearly violate reporting policy and the Army’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program protocols.”
They also expressed deep concern in their letter that this abuse is part of a recurring pattern of the Army failing to intervene in reports and cases of sexual misconduct:
“In the lawsuit, female servicemembers and patients noted that a recurring issue was the lack of adequate response from Army leadership. Reportedly, when victims and their loved ones tried to make complaints with Army leadership, they were ‘refused meetings at every level.’ If true, these women deserve better. The alleged dismissive response from the Army demonstrates an immense failure at every level to properly support survivors.”
The members and senators concluded the letter by demanding a full investigation from the DOD Inspector General, explanations on how complaints were handled, and stronger protections to ensure no patient faces this abuse again:
“The allegations against Dr. McGraw are extremely serious, and the Army’s criminal investigation of this matter must continue unabated. That said, the separate concerns raised by survivors about members of the Army at many levels not timely acting on their complaints must be confronted immediately. Additionally, we request that DoD IG investigate to determine whether personnel within the Army properly followed procedures to timely report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement and whether other SAPR procedures and existing protections were followed or not.”
Last week, Senator Hirono and the Hawaii Congressional delegation also sent a letter calling on the DOD to thoroughly investigate every complaint against McGraw and the Army’s own failures in allowing his alleged misconduct to persist.
In addition to Senator Hirono and Representatives Houlahan, Tokuda, Barragan, Trahan, Escobar, and Garcia, the letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representatives Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Andre Carson (D-IN), Judy Chu (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Robert Garcia (D-CA), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Julie Johnson (D-TX), Timothy Kennedy (D-NY), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Nellie Pou (D-NJ), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Emily Randall (D-WA), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Andrea Salinas (D-OR), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Norma Torres (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Nikema Williams (D-GA), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear Mr. Stebbins:
We write to express our strong concerns about the Army’s purported failure to timely intervene in the alleged misconduct of Dr. Major Blaine McGraw at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center, allegations, which if true, would possibly constitute the largest sexual misconduct case in U.S. military history. According to reports, for years, Dr. McGraw allegedly sexually exploited women, including servicewomen and military wives, in his care. When these women attempted to report their concerns and experiences were purportedly repeatedly ignored and Dr. McGraw was kept on staff. The Army, like the other Services, has a history of failing to adequately address sexual misconduct in the ranks, which required Congress to step in and institute hundreds of reforms over the last fifteen years, culminating in the establishment of the Office of the Special Trial Counsel in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). One of those issues involved military services being slow to intervene in cases at an early stage. This appears to have happened in this case since Dr. McGraw was not suspended until this October. This delayed response is unacceptable, and we need answers. Separate, and not to interfere with the ongoing Army criminal investigation into the alleged misconduct of Dr. McGraw, we request the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General review if appropriate Military Health System policies were followed, to include whether patient complaints were timely evaluated and considered, and provide recommendations to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to prevent further instances like this from occurring in the future.
This month over 80 women joined a lawsuit together alleging that Dr. McGraw made lewd sexual advances and comments towards them, as well as secretly recorded patients during exams. One example of the women’s horrific experiences is captured through Jane Doe’s story. After reportedly being assaulted during a patient visit with Dr. McGraw, Jane Doe said she begged a desk attendant to make a report. Instead, she was told to “call or send an email.” Jane Doe alleges she called the hospital seven different times but she was dismissed and hung up on each time. The purported lack of response and urgency to respond to these complaints would clearly violate reporting policy and the Army’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program protocols.
In the lawsuit, female servicemembers and patients noted that a recurring issue was the lack of adequate response from Army leadership. Reportedly, when victims and their loved ones tried to make complaints with Army leadership, they were “refused meetings at every level.” If true, these women deserve better. The alleged dismissive response from the Army demonstrates an immense failure at every level to properly support survivors.
The allegations against Dr. McGraw, and the Army’s purported failure to timely address survivor complaints, are not isolated. A separate investigation deemed Fort Hood as a notoriously “permissive environment” for sexual harassment and assault. The base has been plagued by this issue for years. For example, in 2020, Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén was murdered by a fellow soldier while stationed at Fort Hood. Throughout her time on base, Specialist Guillén was sexually harassed by a separate supervisor. Specialist Guillén’s tragic murder was the impetus for the aforementioned changes in the FY22 NDAA. However, even with these positive reforms, it is clear more needs to be done. The fact that this reported abuse occurred at the same base as Specialist Guillen’s murder is appalling. All women should be safe on a military base, and they surely should be able to safely seek treatment without fear of sexual assault or abuse.
The allegations against Dr. McGraw are extremely serious, and the Army’s criminal investigation of this matter must continue unabated. That said, the separate concerns raised by survivors about members of the Army at many levels not timely acting on their complaints must be confronted immediately. Additionally, we request that DoD IG investigate to determine whether personnel within the Army properly followed procedures to timely report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement and whether other SAPR procedures and existing protections were followed or not. We therefore request a response to the following questions from the Defense Health Agency and the Inspector General within 60 days of receipt:
We are committed to demanding justice for victims of sexual assault and harassment, and we will not stay silent while the safety of women is at risk. Again, we request prompt and thorough answers to these questions to prevent further harm and hold those responsible for this accountable.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.
Sincerely,
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