National
3 gay nominees held up in Senate
Trio among 74 Obama appointees still awaiting a vote
Three openly gay nominees are among the 74 presidential appointees whose confirmations are being held up by the U.S. Senate, although observers don’t suspect anti-gay bias as a factor preventing a vote.
The lack of a Senate vote on these nominees is blocking them from assuming the jobs to which President Obama nominated them. The three nominees are:
• Michael Camunez, nominated to become assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance;
• Richard Sorian, nominated to become assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health & Human Services;
• and Beatrice Hanson, nominated to become director of the Justice Department’s Office of Victims of Crime.
The White House announced the nomination of Camunez in March. Obama announced the nominations of the other two nominees late last year.
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, expressed disappointment that the Senate has been unable to confirm the nominees as well as the 71 other appointments that are pending.
“It’s unfortunate that at a time when our nation is facing enormous challenges, some senators have decided to delay critical nominations — often for political purposes,” he said. “With 74 nominees still pending before the Senate, the president hopes that the Senate will move forward and consider all of these well-qualified candidates.”
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has pushed for the appointment of LGBT people through the federal government as the coalition leader in the Presidential Appointments Project.
Denis Dison, a Victory Fund spokesperson, said he had no knowledge of anti-gay bias holding up the confirmation process.
“My understanding is there are tons of nominees that are still being held,” Dison said. “I think that if the president is nominating a number of LGBT people, they’re just as likely to get caught up in the politics as straight nominees.”
Of the three pending LGBT nominees, the Senate has most recently taken steps to put Camunez on track to receive his appointment. The Senate Finance Committee last week favorably reported his nomination to the floor, just before lawmakers broke for the August recess.
Jim Manley, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said the full Senate had yet to schedule a confirmation vote for Camunez.
“Last Thursday is a millisecond in the Senate, so it’s not like he’s been hanging out there for six months,” Manley said. “We rarely, if ever, confirm anyone on the day they [are] reported out.”
On June 30, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously reported out the nomination of Sorian, but his nomination hasn’t yet come before the full Senate.
Manley cited general Republican opposition to presidential nominees as the reason why the Senate has not confirmed Sorian.
“I have no idea what the deal is, but I think if you Google up the words ‘Donald Berwick’ and ‘Republicans,’ you will find Republicans vowing jihad in the light of the recess appointment for Burwick, so that’s all I know about that,” Manley said.
Manley was referring to Obama’s recess appointment in July of Donald Berwick as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which invoked the ire of Republicans ranging from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The other appointee, Hanson, is pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Erica Chabot, spokesperson for the Judiciary Committee, said consideration of the nomination of Elena Kagan to become associate justice for the U.S. Supreme Court prevented the panel from holding other confirmation hearings.
“That often times slows up the scheduling of the nominations hearings, when we have a Supreme Court nominee,” Chabot said.
Time for a hearing or committee vote of Hanson’s nomination has not been scheduled, Chabot said. She denied that Hanson’s sexual orientation played any role in what was preventing the Judiciary Committee from taking up her nomination.
“It’s certainly not from Sen. Leahy’s perspective,” Chabot said. “I don’t think that anybody has raised that — certainly not with me.”
Another nominee, Chai Feldblum, a lesbian with a long history of LGBT activism, never received Senate confirmation. Still, she was able to assume her position as a commissioner for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission through a recess appointment March 27.
But because Feldblum never received confirmation from the Senate, her tenure is shorter than it would have been if she had received consent from the chamber. She will only retain her EEOC position until the end of this year, while if she had received confirmation she would have been able to stay on until 2013.
An unknown senator placed a secret hold on Feldblum’s appointment, as well as other EEOC nominations, preventing the Senate from taking action. It’s still possible for the Senate to vote on her nomination to enable her to take her position for full tenure.
Dison said the extent to which Feldblum’s sexual orientation played a role in the mystery senator’s hold is unknown, but he noted it would be “appalling” if any senator thought being a lesbian would disqualify them from any job.
“I know that she has been quite active in LGBT issues,” Dison said. “If that’s the problem for those who don’t want her confirmed, then it’s not far from saying that her sexual orientation is the issue. She fought for those issues on principle, but she also fought for them because she’s part of that community.”
Sean Theriault, a gay government professor at the University of Texas, Austin, said the hold up of the nominations reflects “how truly paralyzed the Senate is” as opposed to any anti-gay bias.
“The system of holds, filibusters, electioneering, legislative games, and party polarization has brought the Senate to a screeching halt,” he said. “Now, if these were the only four nominees who hadn’t yet been confirmed, I would speculate that the reason might be their orientations. But hundreds of nominees are stalled.”
Theriault said he doesn’t expect the Senate to take up the nominations until after the November elections.
“Then, quite frankly, who knows what will happen to them, especially if the Republicans take over,” Theriault said.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
Congress
Ogles faces bipartisan backlash over anti-gay social media post
Tenn. congressman blamed the comment on staffer
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who represents Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, is facing backlash from LGBTQ advocates and fellow Republicans after a social media post declared that “homosexuality has no place in America.”
“Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month,” the congressman wrote in a post on X that was later deleted.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 6.3 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ.
Following widespread criticism, Ogles removed the post and blamed it on a staff member.
“The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded,” Ogles said in a statement.
The Washington Blade reached out to Ogles’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Among those condemning the message was U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who called it “absolutely idiotic” in a social media post.
“Homosexuality exists. In America,” Lawler wrote on X. “In fact, Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn’t make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also criticized Ogles’s remarks.
“For all of recorded history, homosexuals have been a part of humanity,” Cruz told TMZ DC. “I think the behavior of consenting adults is their business.”
Chris Sanders, the executive director for the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation provided a statement to the Blade about Ogles’s comment.
“The Tennessee Nuclear Family Month resolution has really backfired on conservatives by ensnaring Congressman Ogles in scandal. He used the resolution as a pretext to say that our community doesn’t belong in America, resulting in incredible backlash from across the partisan divide,” Sanders said. “It is a good opportunity for him to pause and reflect on whether it’s time for him to resign. Fighting one’s own constituents is not the purpose of serving in Congress.”
Human Rights Campaign Senior Press Secretary Jarred Keller provided a statement to the Blade regarding Ogles’s comments.
“LGBTQ+ people are woven into the fabric of America, and any politician who questions that is severely out of touch with reality. When so many people are worried about whether they can afford gas to get to work or groceries for their families, the last thing we need is right-wing Republicans targeting marginalized communities with hateful attacks,” Keller said. “Representative Ogles should spend less time attacking LGBTQ+ people and start addressing the issues that actually matter, because last I checked, our community isn’t the reason families are struggling to make ends meet.”
The controversy comes as Tennessee continues to advance legislation affecting LGBTQ residents. The state already has several laws on the books that LGBTQ advocates have criticized, including the Adult Entertainment Act, enacted in 2023, which restricts certain “adult cabaret performances.”
Lawmakers have also introduced additional measures this legislative session, including the “No Pride Flag or Month Act,” which would prohibit state employees, volunteers, and agents from displaying Pride flags or participating in Pride observances while acting in an official capacity.
Another proposal, the “Banning Bostock Act” would seek to limit the application of state anti-discrimination protections based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Tennessee lawmakers have also passed other measures restricting LGBTQ rights and access to gender-affirming health care.
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