National
Obama meets with Joint Chiefs on ‘Don’t Ask’
Gibbs believes president has seen parts of report


White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed on Monday that President Obama met with the Joint Chiefs on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a planned topic of discussion on Monday during a meeting between President Obama and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the White House.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday confirmed that Obama was meeting the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Oval Office to discuss “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Pentagon report on the matter.
“I think the president right now is in the Oval Office meeting with the Joint Chiefs about the issue and about the report,” Gibbs said in response to questioning from the Blade. “We look forward to the presentation by [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Adm. [Mike] Mullen tomorrow and then their testimony later in the week.”
Gibbs said he believes the president has seen “parts of” the report on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is due for release Tuesday. Still, Gibbs said he would need to double-check whether Obama has indeed seen the study and doesn’t “want to ahead of” the release of report “in terms of commenting.”
In February, Mullen testified before the Senate that he favors allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. But the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force have said they oppose legislative action on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before the Pentagon completes its report. New Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he continues to oppose an end to the military’s gay ban.
Support for repeal from the service chiefs could be key in moving several fence-sitting senators to back an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” although Gibbs has previously hinted he doesn’t think unanimous agreement among the chiefs is essential to moving forward.
Asked on Monday whether the president attempted during the Oval Office meeting to get the service chiefs to support repeal in lame duck, Gibbs said he’d supply the Blade a readout of the discussion later.
One question remains on when the Senate will schedule a floor vote on major defense legislation that includes language for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has committed to holding a vote on the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill, but hasn’t yet announced a date for scheduling the motion to proceed.
Jim Manley, a Reid spokesperson, told the Blade on Monday morning there’s “nothing new yet” with regard to when the majority leader would schedule a vote on the defense authorization bill.
The majority leader is likely to bring up the legislation following Senate hearings this week on the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” report.
A number of key senators have said they wouldn’t vote to move forward with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in lame duck unless Senate leadership sets up a more open amendment process on the defense authorization bill than what was proposed during an earlier failed attempt at bringing the legislation to the floor in September.
Reid has said he wouldn’t bring up the DREAM Act as an amendment to the defense authorization bill during lame duckĀ and would instead bring up the immigration-related legislation as a standalone measure. Still, a number of senators have said a more open amendment process is a condition for their vote in ending the filibuster on the motion to proceed.
Gibbs noted decisions have already made with some amendments and that the DREAM Act has been taken off the table as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.
“Obviously, I think they have made some decisions about some amendments, and some amendments that have been taken out and voted on separately,” Gibbs said. “I think we just talked about that in terms of the DREAM Act.”
Gibbs said he’d have to speak with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs on whether the president has given Senate leadership any guidance on handling the defense authorization bill when it comes up again during the lame duck session.
Asked whether the president believes the amendment process in September was fair, Gibbs reiterated the president’s commitment to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislatively.
“I think the president strongly believed that this was an issue that can, should — can and should be solved legislatively, encouraged the Senate to act legislatively on the defense authorization bill, and, particularly, changing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” Gibbs said. “That’s our position now and I don’t anticipate that the release of the report will do anything but strengthen that case.”
Watch a video of the questioning here (via Think Progress):
State Department
Protesters demand US fully restore PEPFAR funding
Activists blocked intersection outside State Department on Thursday

Dozens of HIV/AIDS activists on Thursday protested outside the State Department and demanded U.S. officials fully restore President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding.
The activists ā members of Housing Works, Health GAP, and the Treatment Action Group ā blocked an intersection for an hour. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell told the Washington Blade that police did not make any arrests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 24 directed State Department personnel to stop nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for 90 days in response to an executive order that President Donald Trump signed after his inauguration. Rubio later issued a waiver that allows PEPFAR and other ālife-saving humanitarian assistanceā programs to continue to operate during the freeze.
The Blade on Wednesday reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of a lack of U.S. funding.
āPEPFAR is a program that has saved 26 million lives and changed the trajectory of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said Housing Works CEO Charles King in a press release. “The recent freeze on its funding is not just a bureaucratic decision; it is a death sentence for millions who rely on these life-saving treatments. We cannot allow decades of progress to be undone. The U.S. must immediately reaffirm its commitment to global health and human dignity by restoring PEPFAR funding.”
āWe demand Secretary Rubio immediately reverse his deadly, illegal stop-work order, which has already disrupted life-saving HIV services worldwide,” added Russell. “Any waiver process is too little, too late.”
The White House
Trump bars trans women and girls from sports
The administration reversed course on the Biden-Harris policy on Title IX

President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued another executive order taking aim at the transgender community, this time focusing on eligibility for sports participation.
In a signing ceremony for āKeeping Men Out of Womenās Sports” in the East Room of the White House, the president proclaimed “With this executive order, the war on womenās sports is over.”
Despite the insistence by Trump and Republicans that trans women and girls have a biological advantage in sports over cisgender women and girls, the research has been inconclusive, at best.
A study in the peer reviewed Sports Medicine journal found āno direct or consistent researchā pointing to this conclusion. A different review in 2023 found that post-pubertal differences are āreduced, if not erased, over time by gender affirming hormone therapy.ā
Other critics of efforts to exclude trans student athletes have pointed to the small number of people who are impacted. Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, testified last year that fewer than 10 of the NCAA’s 522,000+ student athletes identify as trans.
The Trump-Vance administration has reversed course from the Biden-Harris administration’s policy on Title IX rules barring sex-based discrimination.
āIf youāre going to have womenās sports, if youāre going to provide opportunities for women, then they have to be equally safe, equally fair, and equally private opportunities, and so that means that youāre going to preserve womenās sports for women,” a White House official said prior to the issuance of the order.
Former President Joe Biden’s Title IX rules, which went into effect last year, clarified that pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The White House official indicated that the administration will consider additional guidance, regulations, and interpretations of Title IX, as well as exploring options to handle noncompliance by threatening federal funding for schools and education programs.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump ādoes expect the Olympic Committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in womenās sports.ā
One of the first legislative moves by the new Congress last month was House Republicans’ passage of the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which would ban trans women and girls from participating in competitive athletics.
The bill is now before the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have a three-seat majority but would need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
California
Los Angeles Blade names new publisher
Alexander Rodriguez brings deep media, business experience to outlet

The Los Angeles Blade, Southern Californiaās leading LGBTQ news outlet, today announced the appointment of a new publisher, Alexander Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has a long background in queer media, business development, and a deep commitment to the Los Angeles community. He has worked as a lead writer and podcast host for Metrosource Magazine and for GED Magazine; content director for FleshBot Gay; and as host and producer for the āOn the Rocksā podcast. On the business side, Rodriguez spent years working in business development in the banking industry throughout Los Angeles. He also has an extensive background in event planning and management and has served on the boards of many LGBTQ non-profits. As a TV and radio personality, he has served as emcee for LGBTQ events around the nation.
āIām excited to bring my diverse media and business experience to the Los Angeles Blade,ā Rodriguez said. āWe will continue the Bladeās mission of serving as our communityās news outlet of record during these challenging times and work toward building bridges within our community and beyond.ā
Rodriguez starts in his new role on Monday, Feb. 3.
āWe are thrilled to welcome Alexander to the Blade team,ā said Kevin Naff, one of the owners of the Los Angeles Blade. āHis multimedia and business side experience will help us grow the Blade in L.A. and continue our commitment to best-in-class journalism serving the LGBTQ community in Southern California.ā
Rodriguez becomes the Los Angeles Bladeās second publisher following the unexpected death of founding publisher Troy Masters in December. Masters served in the role for nearly eight years. The community will come together for a celebration of Mastersās life on Monday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m. at the Abbey.
āTroyās legacy is in good hands with Alexander at the helm alongside our new local news editor, Gisselle Palomera,ā Naff added.
The Los Angeles Blade, launched in 2017, celebrates its eighth anniversary in March. It is the sister publication of the Washington Blade, founded in 1969, which offers unmatched coverage of queer political news and is the only LGBTQ outlet in the White House press pool and the White House Correspondentsā Association, and the only LGBTQ outlet with a dedicated seat in the White House briefing room.
Alexander Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].
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