National
Bond’s departure triggers debate over White House role
Some say LGBT liaison lacked influence, others praise his style
Brian Bond (photo courtesy of Bond)
The announced departure last week of the White House gay liaison is being met with praise from some who worked with him on LGBT issues and calls from others who say they want more from his successor.
Brian Bond, deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, is set to leave his position mid-August to become the Democratic National Committee’s director of constituency outreach. Bond, who’s gay, handled LGBT outreach for the office.
A number of LGBT advocates who worked with Bond during his tenure at the White House say Bond was exemplary in his role of serving the LGBT community and meeting its needs.
Winnie Stachelberg, senior vice president for external affairs at the Center for American Progress, said he was “incredibly effective” in advancing the cause for the LGBT community and coordinating with administration leadership, federal agencies and advocacy groups.
“I think the combination of those relationships — with senior folks in the White House and in the administration and in the community — helped him deliver results that speak for themselves on behalf of the community, if you look at the accomplishments of the administration,” Stachelberg said.
Fred Sainz, vice president of communications at the Human Rights Campaign, said Bond is a “key force for positive change” that has included hospital visitation rights and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.
“I know first-hand that Brian has the trust and confidence of the president and his closest advisers,” Sainz said. “Brian would be the first to say that more needs to be done, but we are proud of what has been accomplished to date and are grateful to him for his service.”
Prior to becoming a White House official, Bond served as executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund from 1997 to 2003. He was national constituency director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign and was executive director of the DNC’s LGBT leadership council. Bond returns to the DNC as President Obama ramps up his re-election campaign for 2012.
The choice to succeed Bond remains unknown. Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, said the White House has yet to determine a successor, but is seeking to have one in place by the time Bond leaves for his new position.
“The White House deeply appreciates Brian Bond for his years of service,” Inouye said. “While we do not have any specific staffing updates at this time, we are working to ensure that the LGBT community has a liaison within the Office of Public Engagement in place by the time he departs in mid-August.”
Although applauded for his work in some circles, the announcement of Bond’s departure has inspired debate about the extent to which he was involved in higher levels of policy making at the White House on LGBT issues.
Kerry Eleveld, senior fellow with Media Matters, wrote last week that Bond wasn’t primarily involved in advising President Obama and that John Berry, who’s gay and director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, primarily served as head of LGBT issues in the administration.
“Truth be told, Bond was not a chief political advisor to the president on LGBT issues and he didn’t carry the title of ‘special assistant’ (or higher) to the president — a rank that affords people clout and ensures them a certain amount of access to the Oval Office,” Eleveld wrote. “Bond was more likely to be relaying and implementing what had been decided by others.”
One LGBT advocate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Bond “wasn’t a decision-maker” on LGBT policy at the White House and was mostly involved in scheduling between LGBT groups and higher-ranking Obama administration officials.
“I would be shocked if the White House or anybody tried to argue that’s his role because it clearly wasn’t,” the LGBT advocate said. “Some of the suggestions that he had this amazingly influential role behind the scenes are complete hogwash. He was a mid-level staffer, and mid-level staffers do not make major policy or strategic decisions.”
But Stachelberg said Bond took the initiative on many administrative actions that came from the White House to benefit the LGBT community.
“There are other examples of other administrative actions that have been done, and in the works, where … he helped identify a policy issue that needed work and worked with constituencies and communities at getting it done,” Stachelberg said.
Among the policy changes that Bond helped spearhead were the proposed non-discrimination rule at the Department of Housing & Urban Development, changes at the U.S. Census to publish data on same-sex couples and the recently announced change at the Department of Health & Human Services to start data collection on the LGBT population in federal health surveys.
Stachelberg said Bond’s quiet style of operating and lack of media engagement may have angered some in the LGBT community, but she added that he accomplished much through this mode of operation and said it may be appropriate for his successor.
“Some people — that’s not what they want to see,” Stachelberg said. “They want to see an up-front cheerleader. They want to see someone who’s constantly quoted, who’s constantly making noise. That’s not Brian’s style, and I think his style has been incredibly effective. I’m not sure you want someone as his successor to be particularly different in that regard.”
National
LGBTQ Catholic groups slam Trump over pope criticism
‘Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate’
LGBTQ Catholic groups have sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
Leo on April 13 told reporters while traveling to Algeria that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” after the president described him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in response to his opposition to the Iran war. (Trump on the same day posted to Truth Social an image that appeared to show him as Jesus Christ. He removed it on April 13 amid backlash from religious leaders.)
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, during a Fox News Channel interview on the same day said “in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on with the Catholic church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” Vance on April 14 once again discussed Leo during an appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga., saying he should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Díaz; and Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are among those who have criticized Trump over his comments. The president, for his part, has said he will not apologize to Leo.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” said Leo on Thursday at a cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon.
Francis DeBernardo is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization. He told the Washington Blade on Thursday that Trump’s comments about Leo “are one more example of the ridiculous hubris of this leader (Trump) whose entire record shows that he is nothing more than a middle-school bully.”
“LGBTQ+ adults were often bullied as children, and they have learned the lesson that bullies act when they feel frightened or threatened,” said DeBernardo. “But secular power does not threaten the Vicar of Christ, and Pope Leo’s response illustrates this truth perfectly.”
DeBernardo added Trump “is obviously frightened that Pope Leo, an American, has more power and influence than the president on the world stage.”
“Like most Trumpian bullying, this strategy will backfire,” DeBernardo told the Blade. “Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate. Trump’s actions are not an example of his power, but of his impotence.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ Catholic organization, echoed DeBernardo.
“He [Trump] has demonstrated throughout both presidencies that he doesn’t understand the basic concepts of any faith system that is founded on the dignity of human beings, the importance of common good,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade on Thursday during a telephone interview. “It’s just appalling.”
Duddy-Burke praised Leo and the American cardinals who have publicly criticized Trump.
“The pope’s popularity — given how much more respect Pope Leo has than the man sitting in the White House — is a blow to his ego,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade. “That seems to be a sore sport for him.”
“It’s such an imperialistic world view,” she added.
Leo ‘is the real peacemaker’
The College of Cardinals last May elected Leo to succeed Pope Francis after his death.
Leo, who was born in Chicago, is the first American pope. He was the bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015-2023.
Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.
Juan Carlos Cruz — a gay Chilean man and clergy sex abuse survivor who Francis appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — has traveled to Ukraine several times with Dominican Sister Lucía Caram since Russia launched its war against the country in 2022. Cruz on Thursday responded to Trump’s criticism of Leo in a text message he sent to the Blade from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
“I am in Ukraine under many attacks,” said Cruz. “Trump is an asshole and has zero right to criticize the Pope who is the real peacemaker.”
Tennessee
Charlie Kirk Act advances in Tenn.
Bill would limit protests, protects speakers opposing ‘transgender’ identities
The Tennessee legislature has passed Senate Bill 1741 / House Bill 1476, dubbed the “Charlie Kirk Act,” which, if signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, would reshape how public colleges and universities regulate speech on campus.
The measure targets all public higher education institutions and requires them to adopt a “free expression” policy modeled on the University of Chicago’s framework. That framework emphasizes that universities should not shield students from controversial or offensive ideas and requires state schools to formally embrace institutional neutrality — meaning they do not publicly take a stance on political or social issues.
Under the legislation, publicly funded schools cannot disinvite or cancel invited speakers based on their viewpoints or in response to protests from students or faculty. Student organizations, however — like Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses, founded by Charlie Kirk, and often lack widely represented liberal counterparts — would retain broad authority to bring speakers to campus regardless of controversy.
The law includes broad protections for individuals and organizations expressing religious or ideological beliefs, including opposition to abortion, homosexuality, or transgender identity, regardless of whether those views are rooted in religious or secular beliefs. It further prohibits public institutions from retaliating against faculty for protected speech or scholarly work.
The bill, which has been hailed by supporters as an effort to “preserve campus free speech,” ironically also limits protest activity. Shouting down speakers, blocking sightlines, staging disruptive walkouts, or physically preventing entry to events are now considered “substantial interference” under the legislation, making those who engage in such actions subject to discipline.
Some of those disciplinary consequences include probation, suspension, and even expulsion for students, while faculty who protest in ways deemed to violate the policy could face unpaid suspensions and termination after repeated violations.
Supporters of the bill argue it strengthens free expression on campus. State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), the bill’s sponsor, said it reinforces a commitment to “civil and robust” debate at public universities.
“The Charlie Kirk Act creates critical safeguards for students and faculty and renews the idea that our higher education institutions should be centers of intellectual debate,” Bulso told Fox 17. “This legislation honors the legacy of Charlie Kirk by promoting thoughtful engagement and defending religious freedom.”
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have raised concerns that the legislation effectively elevates certain ideological viewpoints — particularly those tied to religious objections to LGBTQ identities — while exposing students and faculty to punishment for protest or dissent.
“It’s ironic that this body is talking about free speech when we had professors in Tennessee schools expelled and suspended when they did not mourn the death of Charlie Kirk — when they said that his statements were problematic and that the way he died did not redeem the way he lived,” state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) told WKRN.
Kirk, the right-wing activist and founder of Turning Point USA, for whom the bill is named, was assassinated in September 2025 at a public event at Utah Valley University. His legacy and rhetoric remain deeply polarizing, particularly among LGBTQ advocates, who have cited his history of anti-LGBTQ statements in opposing his campus appearances.
The bill now heads to Lee’s desk for his signature.
National
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
Capitol Police arrested five protesters
A group of protesters interrupted Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought during his testimony before Congress on Wednesday.
Vought was at the Cannon House Office Building to give testimony to the House Budget Committee.
Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) began the hearing by touting what he described as economic accomplishments of the Trump-Vance administration’s economic accomplishments. Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) disputed those claims in his opening statement.
Boyle went on to admonish Vought for not attending a committee hearing in the previous year.
Vought, the “Project 2025” architect, was invited to speak after Arrington and Boyle made their statements.
Shortly after Vought began reading his statement, Housing Works CEO Charles King stood up in the gallery and began shouting, “PEPFAR saves lives: spend the money!”
The U.S. Capitol Police moved quickly to escort King from the room. Other activists began chanting with King as they unfolded signs bearing a picture of Vought’s face and statements such as, “Vought’s cuts kill people with AIDS,” and “Protect PEPFAR from Vought.”
The group of HIV/AIDS activists included independent activists, former U.S. Agency for International Development and PEPFAR staff, members of Health GAP, Housing Works, and the Treatment Action Group. Six activists were escorted from the hearing and the U.S. Capitol Police detained five of them.
The HIV/AIDS treatment activists protested at the hearing in response to the dismantling of global health programs, including PEPFAR, a federally-funded program credited with saving millions of lives from HIV/AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Russell Vought is directly responsible for illegally withholding Congressionally appropriated funds for PEPFAR and related global health initiative,” King said in a statement provided to the Washington Blade. “These funding disruptions have already contributed to preventable deaths and threaten to reverse decades of progress in the fight against HIV worldwide. Enough is enough. Congress must ensure Vought stops this deadly sabotage.”
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