News
Carson confirmed to HUD with support from 6 Democrats
New housing secretary has no experience, history of anti-LGBT views
The Senate confirmed Ben Carson as HUD secretary. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Despite a history of expressing anti-LGBT views, the U.S. Senate confirmed on Thursday former neurosurgeon Ben Carson as secretary of housing and urban development by an 58-41 vote with the support of six members of the Democratic caucus.
The six members of the Democratic caucus who joined with the Republicans to vote for Carson were Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.). All Republican senators who were present voted for Carson; Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) wasn’t present to vote.
Six Democrats joined Republicans to vote for Carson even though the new HUD secretary has no experience in managing housing or urban affairs and a long history of comments denigrating LGBT people. After his success as a neurosurgeon, those remarks animated his career as a conservative commentator and Republican presidential candidate.
Carson has called transgender people the “height of absurdity” and “a few people who perhaps are abnormal,” suggesting amid opposition to them using the restroom consistent with their gender identity they should have their own bathrooms specifically designated for them.
During his presidential campaign, Carson waxed nostalgic for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and expressed opposition to allowing transgender people in the armed forces. The candidate signed a pledge with the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage to, among other things, back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide and “conduct a review of regulatory, administrative and executive actions taken by the current administration that have the effect of undermining marriage.”
In 2013, Carson landed in hot water when, as a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University, he compared LGBT advocates to pedophiles during an interview on Fox News. Outcry over the remarks led him to apologize “if anybody was offended” and to cancel plans to give the commencement address for the medical school.
During his confirmation hearing, Carson derided LGBT rights as “extra rights” under questioning from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on LGBT issues.
“What I mentioned in the past is the fact no one gets extra rights,” Carson said. “Extra rights means you get to redefine everything for everybody else. That, to me, doesn’t seem to be very democratic.”
Carson as HUD secretary has the authority to roll back Obama-era regulations barring discrimination against LGBT people in government-sponsored housing and transgender people in homeless shelters, but that should remain in place if Carson keep to his words. In written testimony to the committee, Carson said he doesn’t believe protecting equal access to housing for LGBT people is “extra rights” or something that should be withdrawn.
In a statement, Warner cited Carson’s personal story of “rising from an impoverished background to become an accomplished surgeon” as a reason to confirm him to HUD.
“The Secretary of Housing & Urban Development plays an important role in addressing affordable housing, combatting homelessness and upholding civil rights and non-discrimination laws,” Warner said. “During our meeting in January, I questioned Dr. Carson’s commitment – based on previous public statements – to upholding those fundamental responsibilities. He assured me that he is a ‘huge fan’ of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and its subsequent amendments, which prohibit discrimination in housing, and will vigorously enforce laws proscribing redlining.”
Alluding to housing challenges facing West Virginia, Manchin said in a statement he voted to confirm Carson because of the importance of having a team in place running the government.
“I believe he understands that the housing and development needs facing West Virginia are different than those facing America’s urban communities and I look forward to working with him to improve the lives of West Virginians,” Manchin said.
Heitkamp said in a statement she voted to confirm Carson because in meetings with her he expressed a commitment to “recognize the full social and economic scope of impediments to safe, affordable housing.”
“I’m supporting Dr. Carson today because that approach is crucial to spurring housing opportunity for rural and low-income families on tribal lands and in rural communities alike – and I intend to hold him to his word,” Heitkamp said. “Any successful blueprint begins with a solid foundation, and I look forward to laying the trauma-informed groundwork with Dr. Carson so that our nation’s housing solutions are strong enough for communities that have withstood poverty, crime, abuse, and other adverse experiences and are built to last.”
Donnelly said in a statement he voted for Carson because the secretary made a commitment to East Chicago, which is experiencing a lead crisis.
“The families of East Chicago are counting on him and it is critically important we keep our focus on assisting these families,” Donnelly said. “I also have been encouraged by Dr. Carson’s understanding of issues important to Indiana, including housing assistance for homeless veterans, addressing housing blight, the nexus between housing and health outcomes, and the need for access to affordable housing.”
The Washington Blade has placed a call in with the offices of King and Tester seeking comment on their vote to confirm Carson.
In a committee vote to approve Carson, Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, joined Republicans to support him unanimously, much to the ire of many progressives who objected to their support for a Trump nominee.
Of those Democrats on the committee, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) voted “no” during the floor vote to confirm him, although Heitkamp, Tester and Warner doubled-down to support him again.
The 62-37 cloture vote Wednesday to proceed with debate and confirmation of Carson in the Senate was about the same as the confirmation vote, except Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.) Menendez and Brown were among those voting to move forward.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, criticized the Senate for confirming Carson despite his lack of experience in housing and anti-LGBT comments.
“The Senate has just voted to confirm a man who called over 1.4 million of his fellow Americans who are transgender ‘abnormal’ and referred to acknowledging their very existence as ‘silly,’ ‘beyond ridiculous,’ and ‘the height of absurdity,’” Keisling said. “Even setting aside Dr. Carson’s self-professed inexperience, these mean-spirited statements alone should have been disqualifying. The Senate will now own those comments.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
‘This is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 20 signed a bill approved by the D.C. Council that requires health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
Like all legislation approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the bill, called the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act, was sent to Capitol Hill for a required 30-day congressional review period before it takes effect as D.C. law.
Gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) last year introduced the bill.
Insurance coverage for PrEP drugs has been provided through coverage standards included in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But AIDS advocacy organizations have called on states and D.C. to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP as a safeguard in case federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
Like legislation passed by other states, the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act requires insurers to cover all PrEP drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Studies have shown that PrEP drugs, which can be taken as pills or by injection just twice a year, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection.
“I think this is a win for our community,” Parker said after the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve the bill on its first vote on the measure in February. “And this is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, following growing criticism over how she and the Department of Justice handled a range of issues, including matters related to sex offender and Trump ally Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump announced Bondi’s removal on Truth Social, where he also said Todd Blanche will serve as acting head of the Justice Department.
“Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year,” Trump wrote on the platform. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime across our country, with murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”
Trump was seen as recently as Wednesday with the now-former attorney general at a Supreme Court hearing on citizenship.
The decision contrasts with Trump’s previous public praise of Bondi, the 87th U.S. attorney general and former 37th attorney general of Florida, who served in that role from 2011-2019 before joining the Trump-Vance administration. He has frequently lauded her loyalty and said he speaks with her often. Bondi was also one of president’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Privately, however, Trump had grown frustrated that Bondi was not “moving quickly enough” to prosecute critics and political adversaries he wanted to face criminal charges, according to multiple sources. The New York Times reported that her inability to charge former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James with any crimes is a large factor in the president’s choice to fire her from the government’s primary law enforcement agency.
The move comes as Trump has sought to minimize public turmoil within his administration, avoiding the perception of a revolving-door Cabinet that defined his first term.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who unsuccessfully ran for governor, has emerged as a leading contender to lead the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies.
“He’s our secret weapon,” Trump said of Zeldin in February during a White House event promoting the coal industry, adding, “He’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
Bondi has also growing faced scrutiny from Congress.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of certain files, where she declined to answer key questions during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in February.
The Tampa native has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights through her roles in government. As Florida attorney general, she fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, arguing it would cause “serious public harm,” pushing forward a legal battle that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She also asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
More recently, Bondi established a “Title IX Special Investigations Team” within the Justice Department focused on restricting transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams and accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity. She also told Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to turn over the medical records of anyone under 19 who received gender-affirming care.
Her removal follows Trump’s decision last month to oust another controversial female Cabinet figure, Kristi Noem.
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
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