National
Gay lawmakers back Pelosi’s leadership bid
But some advocates unhappy with decision to pursue post
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision to pursue a bid as minority leader in the upcoming Congress is being met with unanimous support among the openly gay members of Congress as some LGBT advocates expressed regret that more pro-gay legislation didn’t pass during her tenure as presiding officer.
After Pelosi announced her decision to run for House minority leader last week, openly gay members of Congress declared their support for her decision and praised her work representing San Francisco in Congress for 23 years and her work in the last four years as speaker.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the only out lesbian in Congress, said in a statement to the Blade that she’s among those endorsing Pelosi in her decision to become Democratic leader in the next Congress.
“I remain loyal to Nancy Pelosi,” Baldwin said. “In the last two years, she accomplished things that we’ve been trying to do for decades. Without her unique leadership passing health care reform, [the stimulus package], higher education reform, Wall Street reform, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and the House-passed Energy and Climate Change bill would never have happened.”
In an interview with the Washington Blade on Monday, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the longest-serving openly gay member of Congress, also said he backs Pelosi’s decision to stay on as Democratic leader. He’s often spoken highly of her commitment to LGBT issues.
“I’m supporting her; I think she’ll win,” Frank told the Blade.
Also among those expressing support for Pelosi’s continued leadership is Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), a gay lawmaker who last week issued a statement praising Pelosi’s decision and her support for the LGBT community.
“I strongly support the speaker and her decision to run for Democratic leader,” Polis said. “She has been a longstanding and ardent supporter of the LGBT community and I will do anything to help continue her leadership. The speaker has led the Democrats out of the wilderness before and I am confident she can do it again.”
David Cicilline, the Rhode Island politician who last week was elected to become the fourth openly gay member of Congress, also endorses Pelosi’s move. Richard Luchette, a spokesperson for Cicilline, said the congressman-elect “will be supporting Nancy Pelosi for minority leader.”
During the course of her tenure as speaker since 2007, Pelosi has pushed through a number of pro-LGBT bills through the U.S. House. The chamber passed hate crimes protections legislation in 2007 and again in 2009.
Pelosi also mustered enough votes in 2007 to pass through the House a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that later died. This year, a measure that would lead to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal passed the House by a 40-vote majority.
The health care reform legislation that Pelosi dragged to the finish line earlier this year increases access to Medicaid for people with HIV and improves Medicare Part D by closing the “donut-hole” for people participating in AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. Additionally, the law prohibits insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions, such as HIV status.
But despite Pelosi’s success in the House with pro-LGBT legislation, only hate crimes legislation also successfully passed through the Senate during her time as speaker. Additionally, Pelosi has endured criticism for not moving forward with a trans-inclusive ENDA during the 111th Congress.
Drew Hammill, who’s gay and a Pelosi spokesperson, said the California lawmaker has been “a staunch advocate” for LGBT people during her more than 20 year in Congress. Among the positions she’s taken that he cited are leading the fight against HIV/AIDS, opposing a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and speaking out against Proposition 8 in California.
“Nancy Pelosi will continue to be a friend, advocate and staunch ally to the community and the leading voice in the Congress for LGBT equality,” Hammill said.
House Democrats will vote at the start of the lame duck session next week on who will become minority leader in the 112th Congress as well as which members will assume other positions in Democratic leadership. As of Blade deadline, no other House member has challenged Pelosi in her bid to become Democratic leader.
The more contentious battle will likely be over who will take the No. 2 position in the Democratic caucus. Both current House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) are vying to become House minority whip. Hoyer is expected to have the backing of more moderate members of Congress, while Clyburn will likely have support from progressives as well as the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Although Pelosi thus far is running unopposed as minority leader, the speaker’s decision to continue to lead the House Democratic caucus has irked some conservative Blue Dogs who distanced themselves from the speaker during the campaign and barely survived the Republican onslaught on Election Day.
Among the U.S. House members who’ve publicly said they wouldn’t vote for Pelosi as minority leader are Reps. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Health Shuler (D-N.C.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.).
Eager to tie Democrats to Pelosi again in the 2012 election, the Republican National Committee last week draped a red banner across the front of its headquarters reading, “Hire Pelosi.” Prior to Election Day, as Republican candidates hammered House Democrats belonging to the caucus that voted Pelosi into power, a similar banner hung on the face of the building reading, “Fire Pelosi.”
One Democratic lobbyist, who spoke to the Blade on the condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment with Pelosi’s decision to stay on as minority leader and said the move doesn’t bode well for Democrats.
The lobbyist noted that fewer Democrats will be in the House next year than the number that were present in the minority prior to Pelosi’s ascension to speaker in 2006.
“Her polarizing history as leader will severely hamper Democratic recruitment efforts in the districts we just lost; couple that with what will almost certainly be additional Democratic losses after redistricting next year and it makes Democrats’ road to reclaiming the House — and her speakership — nearly impossible in the foreseeable future,” the lobbyist said.
Among LGBT rights supporters, Pelosi’s decision to continue as Democratic leader in the 112th Congress is inspiring mixed reactions. Some commend her for pushing through pro-gay bills while others said she could have done more.
Fred Sainz, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of communications, said the decision on whether Pelosi would be able to stay on as minority leader is up to the Democratic caucus and “not any one group.” Still, he praised the Democratic lawmaker for her support for the LGBT community.
“Speaker Pelosi has been a consistent ally and advocate not just for LGBT people but for all fair-minded Americans throughout her congressional career,” Sainz said. “She has vigorously supported full and equal rights for LGBT people long before it was politically acceptable to do so.”
But John Aravosis, the gay editor of AMERICAblog, said Pelosi is responsible in part for the lack of progress on pro-LGBT legislation during the first two years of President Obama’s administration. Still, while he said he’s not completely satisfied with Pelosi, Aravosis said other LGBT advocates in power deserve worse job evaluations.
“All of our leaders let us down: HRC, Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi,” Aravosis said. “Having said that, Nancy Pelosi strikes me as the least culpable of the four. I’m not happy that she wasn’t able to even get ENDA through committee, but I’m a lot less happy at the moment with HRC, President Obama and Harry Reid. Pelosi at least came through for us part-way, the others have been MIA the last two years.”
GetEQUAL, the LGBT organization responsible for civil disobedience acts across the country, is calling on Pelosi to make public a plan for moving forward with LGBT legislation to win the group’s endorsement in her bid to become minority leader. The organization has protested the speaker both on Capitol Hill and in her home district of San Francisco for not moving forward with ENDA in the 111th Congress.
Heather Cronk, managing director for GetEQUAL, maintained her organization is “interested in full equality for all LGBT Americans” and “happy to endorse” any member of Congress that can “commit to carrying the mantle of full federal LGBT equality.”
“While GetEQUAL has protested Rep. Pelosi throughout 2010 to hold her accountable to her promises to the LGBT community, we’d be happy to endorse her if we see a concrete and realistic plan for moving pro-equality legislation through the House,” Cronk said. “We would also be happy to endorse any other representative who can offer such a plan. We’re seeking bold action for equality — and we’re far more interested in that end than in the political horse race that started the day after Election Day.”
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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