Trump Signs Bill Honoring Humayun Khan, Soldier Whose Family He Criticized

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday to name a Virginia post office after Humayun Khan, the Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq whose parents he attacked during the 2016 campaign.

The measure was sponsored by Republican Representative Tom Garrett of Virginia and passed Congress unanimously. The U.S. Postal Service office that will bear the former Army captain’s name is in Charlottesville, where he attended the University of Virginia. Khan died at 27 in 2004 and was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

His parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, appeared together on stage at the 2016 Democratic Convention, with Khizr Khan criticizing then-Republican presidential nominee Trump for his calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Ghazala Khan didn’t speak, later writing in the Washington Post she didn’t think she could keep her composure.

Trump suggested Ghazala Khan was forbidden from speaking and questioned whether Khizr Khan wrote his own words or if Hillary Clinton’s campaign did instead.

In a statement later issued by his campaign, Trump said Captain Khan was a “hero” and should be honored as should any military service member who dies in combat.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Derek Wallbank at dwallbank@bloomberg.net, John Harney

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