National
Hill staffer placed on leave after email disparaging gay colleague
Rep. Johnson announces investigation of her chief of staff
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (photo public domain)
The chief of staff for a longtime Texas congresswoman has been placed on leave following Washington Blade inquiries about an email he wrote disparaging a gay staff member.
Eddie Reeves, spokesperson for the campaign of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), said Murat Gokcigdem, the lawmaker’s chief of staff, has been placed on indefinite leave effective Monday and that Johnson would pursue an independent investigation of his actions.
The announcement follows Blade inquiries about an email from 2010 apparently written by Gokcigdem, about a gay staffer in the office, the late Christopher Crowe, who sought a position in the Treasury Department as special assistant to the undersecretary of budget and tax.
The email, titled “Chris Crowe update,” is dated June 2, 2010 and was apparently intended for Johnson but accidentally sent to Crowe. It was obtained earlier this month by the Washington Blade.
Gokcigdem wrote that he learned Crowe was among four finalists for the Treasury Department position and was seeking a letter of recommendation from the congresswoman.
The chief of staff writes that Crowe had friends within the administration and suggests that other LGBT people helped him in the hiring process because he wasn’t sufficiently qualified to have advanced that far otherwise.
“It is my personal belief that he has contacts there,” Gokcigdem writes. “And they, as a group watching and supporting each other if you know what I mean.”
The 29-year-old gay staffer became ill with meningitis and died of a staph infection that damaged his heart before he could secure the position.
Reeves said the lawmaker decided on Monday to put Gokcigdem on indefinite leave after she learned about the email as she was traveling back to Texas.
“Based on what she’s heard from different people on her staff, she decided the best course of action to do is put Murat on leave pending an investigation,” Reeves said.
Reeves said Johnson has already informed Gokcigdem that he has been placed on leave, but the path for an independent investigation hasn’t yet been determined.
Additionally, Reeves emphasized Johnson’s support for the LGBT community in the course of her work on the Hill.
“The congresswoman has been among the strongest supporters on the Hill of human rights and civil rights, including gay rights,” Reeves said. “That’s why she has a 100 percent rating on LGBT issues. She’s always had the support of Stonewall Democrats; she always had the support of the Human Rights Campaign, and quite frankly, not every member of the Congressional Black Caucus can say that.”
In the email, Gokcigdem wrote that the White House cleared Crowe for the position and expressed disbelief that Crowe had advanced so far in the hiring process.
“I can not believe the White House could pass a junior [legislative aide] to be a congressional liaison for budget and tax issues,” Gokcigdem wrote. “I don’t think he has the expertise or the vast knowledge to be like Rod Hall.”
Later in the email, Gokcigdem said he would defer to Johnson on whether he should write a letter of recommendation, saying Crowe was a satisfactory employee but added, “I had issues with him both professionally and personally.” The issues to which Gokcigdem refers are not named.
According to Legistorm, which monitors the expenses of House members, Gokcigdem took home $168,411 in income as Johnson’s chief of staff last year.
Crowe died in March 2011. Upon his death, Johnson issued a statement saying Crowe “was respected by his colleagues for his professionalism and beloved by many for his generous spirit and good humor.” Johnson was among the speakers during a memorial service for Crowe attended by Capitol Hill staffers.
Natalie Wyeth, a Treasury Department spokesperson, declined to comment on the Treasury Department position because the department does not comment on personnel matters.
Johnson, who represents Texas’ 30th congressional district, is facing two challengers in a competitive primary set for May 29: Barbara Mallory Caraway, a Texas state representative, and Taj Clayton, an attorney. Early voting for the primary began Monday.
According to the latest scorecard from the Human Rights Campaign, the 10-term Democrat has a perfect record in favor of LGBT legislation. In the 111th Congress, she voted for hate crimes legislation and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. Under the leadership of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Johnson voted against amendments reaffirming the Defense of Marriage Act that went to the House floor.
Johnson has also been endorsed by the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, a local gay Democratic group in her district.
Omar Narvaéz, president of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, had high praise for Johnson — a former head of the Congressional Black Caucus — and her work on LGBT issues.
“Eddie Bernice Johnson has throughout her tenure been one of the strongest supporters on Capitol Hill of civil and human rights, including gay rights,” Narvaéz said. “That’s why she has consistently scored a 100 percent rating for LGBT issues and has always enjoyed the avid support of groups like Stonewall Democrats and the HRC — something not every member of Congressional Black Caucus can boast.”
In response to Gokcigdem’s email, Narvaéz said he “sees nothing wrong.”
“While she didn’t know about this email, it simply isn’t an issue,” Narvaéz said. “Not only is it true that gay groups, like every other racial, ethnic, geographic or issue group, stick together, it is a great thing that we do.”
In 2010, Johnson was criticized after the Dallas Morning News reported over the course of five years she gave out 23 scholarships to relatives — two grandchildren and two great grandchildren — and staff members’ children, which is against the rules of the scholarship.
The lawmaker repaid $31,000 to the caucus and said she was unaware that what she did was unethical. In a subsequent interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Johnson said Gokcigdem was responsible for reviewing the scholarship applications.
CORRECTION: An initial version of this article misspelled the name of Murat Gockcigdem. The Blade regrets the error.
Federal Government
Holiday week brings setbacks for Trump-Vance trans agenda
Federal courts begin to deliver end-of-year responses to lawsuits involving federal transgender healthcare policy.
While many Americans took the week of Christmas to rest and relax, LGBTQ politics in the U.S. continued to shift. This week’s short recap of federal updates highlights two major blows to the Trump-Vance administration’s efforts to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.
19 states sue RFK Jr. to end gender-affirming care ban
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday that the NYAG’s office, along with 18 other states (and the District of Columbia), filed a lawsuit to stop U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from restricting gender-affirming care for minors.
In the press release, Attorney General James stressed that the push by the Trump-Vance administration’s crusade against the transgender community — specifically transgender youth — is a “clear overreach by the federal government” and relies on conservative and medically unvalidated practices to “punish providers who adhere to well-established, evidence-based care” that support gender-affirming care.
“At the core of this so-called declaration are real people: young people who need care, parents trying to support their children, and doctors who are simply following the best medical evidence available,” said Attorney General James. “Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices. My office will always stand up for New Yorkers’ health, dignity, and right to make medical decisions free from intimidation.”
The lawsuit is a direct response to HHS’ Dec. 18 announcement that it will pursue regulatory changes that would make gender-affirming health care for transgender children more difficult, if not impossible, to access. It would also restrict federal funding for any hospital that does not comply with the directive. KFF, an independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism, found that in 2023 federal funding covered nearly 45% of total spending on hospital care in the U.S.
The HHS directive stems directly from President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 Executive Order, Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, which formally establishes U.S. opposition to gender-affirming care and pledges to end federal funding for such treatments.
The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest and most influential physician organization, has repeatedly opposed measures like the one pushed by President Trump’s administration that restrict access to trans health care.
“The AMA supports public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria and opposes the denial of health insurance based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” a statement on the AMA’s website reads. “Improving access to gender-affirming care is an important means of improving health outcomes for the transgender population.”
The lawsuit also names Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin as having joined New York in the push against restricting gender-affirming care.
At the HHS news conference last Thursday, Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of the department, asserted, “Men are men. Men can never become women. Women are women. Women can never become men.”
DOJ stopped from gaining health care records of trans youth
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon blocked an attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to gain “personally identifiable information about those minor transgender patients” from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), saying the DOJ’s efforts “fly in the face of the Supreme Court.”
Journalist Chris Geidner originally reported the news on Dec. 25, highlighting that the Western District of Pennsylvania judge’s decision is a major blow to the Trump-Vance administration’s agenda to curtail transgender rights.
“[T]his Court joins the others in finding that the government’s demand for deeply private and personal patient information carries more than a whiff of ill intent,” Bissoon wrote in her ruling. “This is apparent from its rhetoric.”
Bissoon cited the DOJ’s “incendiary characterization” of trans youth care on the DOJ website as proof, which calls the practice politically motivated rather than medically sound and seeks to “…mutilate children in the service of a warped ideology.” This is despite the fact that a majority of gender-affirming care has nothing to do with surgery.
In United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court ruled along party lines that states — namely Tennessee — have the right to pass legislation that can prohibit certain medical treatments for transgender minors, saying the law is not subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it does not involve suspect categories like race, national origin, alienage, and religion, which would require the government to show the law serves a compelling interest and is narrowly tailored, sending decision-making power back to the states.
“The government cannot pick and choose the aspects of Skrmetti to honor, and which to ignore,” Judge Bissoon added.
The government argued unsuccessfully that the parents of the children whose records would have been made available to the DOJ “lacked standing” because the subpoena was directed at UPMC and that they did not respond in a timely manner. Bissoon rejected the timeliness argument in particular as “disingenuous.”
Bissoon, who was nominated to the bench by then-President Obama, is at least the fourth judge to reject the DOJ’s attempted intrusion into the health care of trans youth according to Geidner.
A Wider Bridge on Friday announced it will shut down at the end of the month.
The group that “mobilizes the LGBTQ community to fight antisemitism and support Israel and its LGBTQ community” in a letter to supporters said financial challenges prompted the decision.
“After 15 years of building bridges between LGBTQ communities in North America and Israel, A Wider Bridge has made the difficult decision to wind down operations as of Dec. 31, 2025,” it reads.
“This decision comes after challenging financial realities despite our best efforts to secure sustainable funding. We deeply appreciate our supporters and partners who made this work possible.”
Arthur Slepian founded A Wider Bridge in 2010.
The organization in 2016 organized a reception at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference in Chicago that was to have featured to Israeli activists. More than 200 people who protested against A Wider Bridge forced the event’s cancellation.
A Wider Bridge in 2024 urged the Capital Pride Alliance and other Pride organizers to ensure Jewish people can safely participate in their events in response to an increase in antisemitic attacks after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported authorities in Vermont late last year charged Ethan Felson, who was A Wider Bridge’s then-executive director, with lewd and lascivious conduct after alleged sexual misconduct against a museum employee. Rabbi Denise Eger succeeded Felson as A Wider Bridge’s interim executive director.
A Wider Bridge in June honored U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) at its Pride event that took place at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. The event took place 15 days after a gunman killed two Israeli Embassy employees — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — as they were leaving an event at the museum.
“Though we are winding down, this is not a time to back down. We recognize the deep importance of our mission and work amid attacks on Jewish people and LGBTQ people – and LGBTQ Jews at the intersection,” said A Wider Bridge in its letter. “Our board members remain committed to showing up in their individual capacities to represent queer Jews across diverse spaces — and we know our partners and supporters will continue to do the same.”
Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers traveled to Israel and Palestine with A Wider Bridge in 2016.
The White House
‘Trump Rx’ plan includes sharp cuts to HIV drug prices
President made announcement on Friday
President Donald Trump met with leaders from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies at the White House on Friday to announce his new “Trump Rx” plan and outline efforts to reduce medication costs for Americans.
During the roughly 47-minute meeting in the Roosevelt Room, Trump detailed his administration’s efforts to cut prescription drug prices and make medications more affordable for U.S. patients.
“Starting next year, American drug prices will come down fast, furious, and will soon be among the lowest in the developed world,” Trump said during the meeting. “For decades, Americans have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs by far … We will get the lowest price of anyone in the world.”
Trump signed an executive order in May directing his administration “to do everything in its power to slash prescription drug prices for Americans while getting other countries to pay more.”
“This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American health care, by far, and every single American will benefit,” he added.
Several pharmaceutical executives stood behind the president during the announcement, including Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee, Boehringer Ingelheim (USA) CEO Jean-Michel Boers, Gilead Sciences CEO Dan O’Day, Bristol Myers Squibb General Counsel Cari Gallman, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Merck CEO Robert Davis, and Amgen Executive Vice President Peter Griffith.
Also in attendance were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary.
Under the Trump Rx plan, the administration outlined a series of proposed drug price changes across multiple companies and therapeutic areas. Among them were reductions for Amgen’s cholesterol-lowering drug repatha from $573 to $239; Bristol Myers Squibb’s HIV medication reyataz from $1,449 to $217; Boehringer Ingelheim’s type 2 diabetes medication jentadueto from $525 to $55; Genentech’s flu medication xofluza from $168 to $50; and Gilead Sciences’ hepatitis C medication epclusa from $24,920 to $2,425.
Additional reductions included several GSK inhalers — such as the asthma inhaler advair diskus 500/50, from $265 to $89 — Merck’s diabetes medication januvia from $330 to $100, Novartis’ multiple sclerosis medication mayzent from $9,987 to $1,137, and Sanofi’s blood thinner plavix from $756 to $16. Sanofi insulin products would also be capped at $35 per month’s supply.
These prices, however, would only be available to patients who purchase medications directly through TrumpRx. According to the program’s website, TrumpRx “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency, and cutting out costly third-party markups.”
Kennedy spoke after Trump, thanking the president for efforts to lower pharmaceutical costs in the U.S., where evidence has shown that drug prices — including both brand-name and generic medications — are nearly 2.78 times higher than prices in comparable countries. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, roughly half of every dollar spent on brand-name drugs goes to entities that play no role in their research, development, or manufacturing.
“This is affordability in action,” Kennedy said. “We are reversing that trend and making sure that Americans can afford to get the life-saving solutions.”
Gilead CEO Dan O’Day also spoke about how the restructuring of drug costs under TrumpRx, combined with emerging technologies, could help reduce HIV transmission — a virus that, if untreated, can progress to AIDS. The LGBTQ community remains disproportionately affected by HIV.
“Thank you, Mr. President — you and the administration,” O’Day said. “I think this objective of achieving the commitment to affordability and future innovation is extraordinary … We just recently launched a new medicine that’s only given twice a year to prevent HIV, and we’re working with Secretary Kennedy and his entire team, as well as the State Department, as a part of your strategy to support ending the epidemic during your term.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about the innovation that exists across these companies and the impact this could have on America’s health and economy,” he added.
Trump interjected, asking, “And that’s working well with HIV?”
“Yes,” O’Day replied.
“It’s a big event,” Trump said.
“It literally prevents HIV almost 100 percent given twice a year,” O’Day responded.
A similar anti-HIV medication is currently prescribed more than injectable form mentioned by O’Day. PrEP, is a medication regimen proven to significantly reduce HIV infection rates for people at high risk. Without insurance, brand-name Truvada can cost roughly $2,000 per month, while a generic version costs about $60 per month.
Even when medication prices are reduced, PrEP access carries additional costs, including clinic and laboratory fees, office visits, required HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing, adherence services and counseling, and outreach to potentially eligible patients and providers.
According to a 2022 study, the annual total cost per person for PrEP — including medication and required clinical and laboratory monitoring — is approximately $12,000 to $13,000 per year.
The TrumpRx federal platform website is now live at TrumpRx.gov, but the program is not slated to begin offering reduced drug prices until January.
Holiday week brings setbacks for Trump-Vance trans agenda
Your guide to D.C.’s queer New Year’s Eve parties
Long-awaited ‘Pillion’ surpasses the sexy buzz
Trump’s ‘American people derangement syndrome’
Reasons to be optimistic about 2026
Reasons to be optimistic about 2026
Long-awaited ‘Pillion’ surpasses the sexy buzz
Protecting the trans community is not optional for elected allies and candidates
Trump’s ‘American people derangement syndrome’
