National
House votes again to repeal ‘Don’t Ask’
Will the Senate follow suit before time is up?
The U.S. House today approved by a 75-vote margin a measure that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as eyes shift once again to the Senate to see if the chamber will act to lift the military’s gay ban.
The measure to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” passed by a vote of 250-175 after more than an hour of floor debate in which lawmakers engaged in often passionate discourse both in favor and in opposition to the 1993 law.
After lawmakers cast their votes, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the longest-serving openly gay lawmaker, banged the gavel at the podium and declared the final vote tally for the legislation.
During debate, those who spoke in favor of the repeal said lifting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would end a discriminatory policy, while opponents of repeal said open service would jeopardize military effectiveness.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” represented an opportunity to “close the door on a fundamental unfairness in our nation.”
“Repealing the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy will honor the service and sacrifice of all who dedicated their lives to protecting the American people,” she said.
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), the sponsor of repeal legislation in the House, said the vote for repeal was necessary to protect U.S. service members in the battlefield.
“Our troops are the best of the best, and they deserve a Congress that puts their safety — and our collective national security — over rigid partisan interests and a close-minded ideology,” Murphy said.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker noted the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen has said open service should be implemented to protect the integrity of the U.S. military.
“Well, this is also about the integrity of this institution — of this Congress,” Murphy said. “This vote is about whether we’re going to continue telling people willing to die for our freedoms that they need to lie in order to do so.”
The vote marks the second time this year that the House has approved a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal bill. In May, the chamber passed a repeal measure on the floor as an amendment to the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill by a vote of 234-194. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”-inclusive defense legislation failed to pass in the Senate.
Opposition this time around came from many Republicans, including Rep. W. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who said the vote on repeal represented an attempt fto impose a “social agenda” on the U.S. military during wartime as operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Akin blamed House leadership for failing to pass a defense authorization bill — which he called an “eclipse of reason” because it has consistently passed in Congress for the past 48 years — and said Congress should pass funds for troops through the defense legislation before moving to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, was also critical of Pelosi for bringing the repeal measure to the floor at this time and said the timing wasn’t right Congress to act on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“The speaker has decided once more to subvert regular order … and bring to the floor [a measure] to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” McKeon said.
Among other things, McKeon was critical of how the House was holding a vote on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before House committees had heard testimony on the Pentagon report on lifting the gay ban. Two days of hearings have already taken place earlier this month in the Senate on the report.
In response to Republicans’ assertions, Frank disputed that proper procedure hasn’t been followed on moving to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and noted that Republicans were responsible for filibustering the defense authorization bill in the Senate.
Frank noted the repeal measure had already passed in May by the full House and the Senate Armed Services Committee and said the notion that the committees of jurisdiction have been deprived on the issue was “delusional.”
“We’ve gone through triple regular order,” he said.
Among the 175 who voted against the repeal measure were 15 members of the Democratic caucus. They include House Armed Services Committee Chair Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), as well as Reps. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.).
Republicans who voted in favor of passing the legislation tallied out at 15 — which was 10 more Republicans than those who voted in May in favor of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” amendment.
Among the Republicans voting for repeal for the first time were Reps. Mary Bono Mack (D-Calif.), David Dreier (R-Calif.) and Dave Reichert (R-Wash.).
Passage of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in the House first enables the chamber to send the legislation to the Senate as as “privileged” legislation.
The maneuver means the Senate won’t need 60 votes for the motion to proceed on the legislation, taking off the 30 hours of waiting time that would have been necessary were cloture filed on the measure. That’s significant as time is running out in the lame duck session.
Still, even though the first round 60 votes for the motion to proceed won’t be necessary, 60 votes would still be necessary in the Senate to move to final passage of the bill. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) this week pledged commitment to a stand-alone Senate repeal bill.
In a statement, President Obama praised the House for approving — with what he called “bipartisan support” —the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal legislation.
“Moving forward with the repeal is not only the right thing to do, it will also give our military the clarity and certainty it deserves,” Obama said. “We must ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally by their country.”
Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokeperson, also said Defense Secretary Robert Gates is “pleased” the House has approved a standalone “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal measure.
“He encourages the Senate to pass the legislation this session, enabling the Department of Defense to carefully and responsibly manage a change in this policy instead of risking an abrupt change resulting from a decision in the courts,” Morrell said.
LGBT rights groups heralded the House passage of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and encouraged the Senate to follow suit to pass the legislation and send it to Obama’s desk.
Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, commended the House for approving the measure to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Today the U.S. House of Representatives said, for the second time, what military leaders, the majority of our troops and 80 percent of the American public have been saying all along — the only thing that matters on the battlefield is the ability to do the job.” Solmonese said.
Solmonese was referring to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published Wednesday, which found that 77 percent of Americans support allowing openly gay people to serve in the armed forces.
The director of the OutServe, a group for gay active duty service members, also praised the House vote and called on the Senate to act.
“Our ability to live and work with integrity and honesty is on the line,” said the director, who goes by the acronym J.D Smith. “It now falls to the Senate to follow the House’s example and the Pentagon report’s recommendations, and right the wrong that is being done to thousands of us currently serving.”
Will the Senate act before year’s end?
Now that the House has passed the measure, eyes will turn again to the Senate to see if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will schedule a vote on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and if 60 votes are present in the chamber for passage.
Anxiety over whether the Senate will address “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as the limited time remaining the legislative session dwindles continues to be a concern for those who are working to end the military’s gay ban.
In a statement to the Blade, Regan Lachapelle, a Reid spokesperson, said the majority leader intends to introduce the legislation sometime before the end of the year, but didn’t offer further details on when the Senate would take up the legislation.
Moving to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal seemed unlikely this week. After finishing work on extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, the Senate proceeded to debate on the START Treaty, a nuclear arms reduction agreement.
The Senate, for the remainder of the week, was expected to tag between debate on the treaty and a continuing resolution for funding for the U.S. government.
One LGBT rights advocate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said opposition to these measures from Republicans could sap away time that would be needed to address “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Both bills have hit procedural/political/substantive snags with Republican senators threatening to have them read out loud,” the activist said. “Whether or not this is a ploy to run out the clock is not known.”
After the START Treaty and the continuing resolution, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal would remain on the legislative calendar as well as passage of the DREAM Act, an immigration-related bill, and legislation to provide benefits to workers who helped at Ground Zero during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“There is no word on when or in what order those bills would be considered,” the activist said. “There is no commitment from Senator Reid to bring [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] to the floor but the privileged message from the House creates momentum and pressure for its consideration prior to adjournment.”
In a news conference on Tuesday, Reid had threatened to keep the Senate in session until Jan. 4 to take up measures such as the DREAM Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Christmas is a week from Saturday,” Reid said. “I understand that. But I hope the Republicans understand it also, because we are going to complete our work, no matter how long it takes, in this Congress. We have to do the work of the American people.”
But the advocate said this pledge from Reid “is largely useless” because senators whose votes would be needed for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would still leave before the session is over.
“He would likely lose senators like [Blanche] Lincoln and [Evan] Bayh who are not returning,” the advocate said. “If the Senate does not work this weekend, they will largely be done.”
Following the House vote, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD.) said during a news conference he doesn’t know when Reid will schedule the vote — even as he acknowledged that talks between House and Senate leadership have taken place.
“I have had conversations with Sen. Reid which indicated that we were going to take this action, and so he anticipated this action,” Hoyer said.
Despite these anxieties, other signs show that sufficient support exists to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if the legislation moves to the Senate floor.
Multiple sources have told the Blade that 60 votes are present in the Senate to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” now that other legislative items such tax cuts have cleared the table.
At the news conference, Hoyer said he’s spoken many senators about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which has led him to believe that sufficient support exists for passage repeal.
“I’ve also had conversations with a number of members of the United States Senate — Republican members,” Hoyer said. “My belief is that there are the requisite number of votes in the United States both to effect cloture and passage of the legislation.”
Several Republicans senators — such as Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Lisa Murkowki (R-Alaska) — have come out in favor of repeal following the release of the Pentagon report.
On Wednesday, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) added her name to the list of senators who have come out in favor of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.
“After careful analysis of the comprehensive report compiled by the Department of Defense and thorough consideration of the testimony provided by the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service chiefs, I support repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law,” Snowe said in a statement.
National
White House orders warning signs at Smithsonian over gender identity exhibits
Administration criticizes National Museum of American History
The Trump administration will install temporary warning signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History after releasing a report accusing the museum of promoting what it calls “radical” gender ideology and other politically biased content.
According to the Executive Order, “For purposes of policy formulation under EO 14253, this review of the National Museum of American History concludes that NMAH, by the intention and at the direction of current Museum and Smithsonian leadership, has become subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”
Executive Order 14253 refers to what the White House has deemed the “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” order. Therefore, the Trump administration has said it will take all available steps to ensure that the issues in the report are addressed and rectified.
Without specifying, the White House has stated that warnings will be posted along NMAH to alert visitors to sections of the museum it has deemed are in violation according to the report.
“The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) and in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, shall install temporary signage along the NPS-maintained sidewalks and walkways used by the public to access the Museum, informing visitors of the findings of the Report and of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order,” the Executive Order states.
The warnings were raised in a 162-page report issued by the Domestic Policy Council. The report detailed ways in which the National Museum of American History (NMAH) has “poorly” portrayed American history and insufficiently highlighted the founding story during America 250th celebrations.
The report outlined key findings of the NMAH. One of these findings was the Center for Restorative History within the museum, which has stated its purpose is to “encourage systemic change” by highlighting diverse groups. However, the report states that it highlights every group of Americans except for straight and white Americans.
The Domestic Policy Council accused the museum of engaging in “transgender activism.” According to the report, examples include referring to “biological men” as women or girls, displaying what it describes as sexually suggestive content, and incorporating discussions of gender fluidity, gender identity, and gender nonconformity into the museum’s educational curriculum, “Becoming US.”
The report also criticizes the curriculum for using the term “transgender” when discussing gender-nonconforming people and encouraging individuals to ask a person’s pronouns when meeting them. It further objects to exhibits stating that “transgender, nonbinary, and cisgender female athletes” continue to struggle for and demand equality.
It also condemns what it refers to as explicit content in an exhibition, “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)”, such as chest binders, questioning gender testing in women’s sports, and referring to biological females as “people inhabiting female bodies.”
Additionally, the report accuses the museum of no longer participating in flag-celebrating ceremonies because it was “too busy” preparing for June Pride and WorldPride events. It states, “As Director Hartig explained in a June 2024 presentation, all her attention was focused on flying the Smithsonian Pride Alliance’s ‘intersexual pride flag during June’ in 2023 and 2024.”
On July 9, the American Historical Association issued a statement rejecting the report’s findings.
In regard to the report, it states, “Its anonymous authors overlook a central lesson of the nation’s founding: the United States was forged by finding common purpose amid intense divisions, conflicts, and disagreements.” They argue that only “honest history” can tell the true history of the nation.
House Republicans led a subcommittee hearing that questioned Smithsonian Director Hartig extensively. A main focus of the questions was on the exhibits related to gender identity and whether they were appropriate. In the hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace asked: “When was your gender revealed to you, Dr. Hartig?”
In response to questioning, Hartig stated that the institution is nonpartisan and does not push a specific agenda.
Hartig published a two-page statement ahead of her hearing outlining her thoughts on the situation. In the report, she states that the institution is always open to criticism and will continue to look for ways to improve, but she sees the report as misleading.
“I can attest that the report does not fairly characterize the full body of work at this museum. I am familiar with the depth and breadth of our collections, exhibits, and programming. And while I recognize there is always room for improvement, I also know the beauty, inspiration, and expertise that exists in our museum,” Hartig wrote.
Democrats created their own 16-page report as a rebuttal to the Domestic Policy Council’s report. It argued that the attacks by the current Trump administration are another example of its attempt to rewrite history. Additionally, the report states that no policy changes were included in the Executive Order, as that is beyond the President’s role. “The Report recommends nothing. That is no accident. To recommend an action, the Report would need to identify who is legally empowered to take it, and its own opening chapter concedes the President’s only power is to ‘urge’,” House Democrats wrote.
It is still unclear when the temporary warnings will be installed or what form they will take beyond the requirements outlined in the executive order.
National
Trump ends direct HIV prevention funding to community groups
Advocates say transfer of funds to states may disrupt local programs
A decision by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the request of the Trump administration to discontinue direct federal funding of community-based organizations and clinics that provide HIV prevention services has raised concern among community health advocates, including LGBTQ advocates.
News surfaced earlier this month that the OMB informed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it would not renew $46 million in funding for 96 community-based organizations that provide HIV testing, referrals to medical care, and arrangements for obtaining pre-exposure HIV prevention medication known as PrEP that has been shown to be 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection.
Under the new policy arranged by OMB, the funds will be redirected to the states to be allocated to state and local health departments. The policy calls for states to encourage but not require their respective state and local health departments to allocate some of those funds for community-based organizations. Under the new policy, the funding is scheduled to last until May of 2027, before a renewal decision is made.
Some political observers have speculated that the decision to end direct federal funding to community-based organizations could be motivated by the Trump administration’s hostility to diversity, equity, and inclusion or DEI programs and organizations that promote those programs, with the belief that some of the groups receiving the federal HIV prevention funds are promoting DEI.
Carl Schmid, executive director of the D.C.-based HIV+ Hepatitis Policy Institute, is among the leaders of many AIDS advocacy organizations expressing strong opposition to the OMB action. Schmid said that in places like D.C. and some states, local officials will be willing to redirect the federal funds to local community-based organizations.
A list of the 96 community-based organizations across the country that are currently receiving the federal AIDS funds includes the D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Health, which has a long history of healthcare support for the LGBTQ community, and La Clinica del Pueblo, which reaches out to the Latino community.
Schmid said Whitman-Walker and La Clinica del Pueblo have longstanding good relationships with the local D.C. government.
“But other states and jurisdictions don’t have that relationship with the community-based organizations,” Schmid said. “It depends on the state,” he said, adding, “Not all states send their money to the communities that really need it most. And not all states are fast in getting money to the community-based organizations.”
Spokespersons for Whitman-Walker and La Clinica del Pueblo couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on whether they think the Trump administration’s latest action related to funding will adversely impact their respective organizations.
Schmid said under the current federal grant program slated to be discontinued, which has been in effect for at least five years, HIV-related health organizations receiving the federal grant funds were eligible for an existing federal policy enabling them to purchase HIV-related medication, including the PrEP prevention medication, at a significant discount from pharmaceutical companies. With the ending of the direct federal HIV funds to community-based organizations, Schmid said it was unclear whether problems may surface in obtaining drug discounts.
“They could still qualify as a sub-grantee from a state,” Schmid said. “But what if they don’t get that grant again? They would not be able to qualify to obtain the drugs” at the discounted price, he said.
Among the organizations expressing strong concern over the decision to discontinue the direct HIV prevention funding to community-based organizations has been the Federal AIDS Policy Institute and its subgroup called the HIV Prevention Action Coalition.
In a July 22 letter bearing the names of 71 community-based organizations from throughout the country sent to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya, the group called for the Trump administration to “reconsider” ending the current funding policy.
“Ending this program without a clear plan for what comes next would dismantle prevention infrastructure that has taken more than three decades of federal investment to build and do so just as that long record of measurable returns is accelerating,” the letter states.
It says the initiative by President Trump in his first term as president to end the HIV epidemic and reduce new HIV infections by 90 percent by 2030 was moving ahead by the funding program for community-based organizations that the administration now wants to end.
“Discontinuing this program would also cost far more than it saves,” the letter says. “Every HIV transmission prevented avoids an estimated lifetime treatment cost of roughly half a million dollars per person to the healthcare system – costs that fall heavily on taxpayer-funded programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program,” the letter continues.
“The choice before the administration is straightforward: a modest, targeted investment in prevention now, or far greater public expense for treatment later,” the letter concludes.
Spokespersons for the OMB and the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, have not immediately responded to news media requests for comment on the opposition to the funding change policy.
National
At Alliance Defending Freedom’s summit, church and state are one
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) among speakers
Uncloseted Media published this article on July 23.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON | Earlier this month, hundreds of people filled a conference room in San Diego. These included Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Brian Christine, OpenAI executive Dean Ball, and the attorneys general of West Virginia and Idaho.
They all came together for Alliance Defending Freedom’s 2026 Summit. The Christian legal group, also a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group, described the event as a “gathering of leaders from many different spheres, including law, public policy, media, business, education, and Christian leadership.”
Johnson — who has said that “homosexual relationships are inherently unnatural and … society cannot give its stamp of approval to such a dangerous lifestyle” — was a featured speaker.
In his speech, he seemed unconcerned with the separation of church and state: “It is so encouraging to Kelly and I to be among friends and fellow warriors for this cause and people who understand that God is not done with America yet. … ADF’s on the very tip of the spear, front line, defending those very truths and keeping the door open for the spread of the Gospel. This is our moment. I’m telling you, I believe the next season … is going to be the greatest season of this ministry since its inception.”
That ministry is one that has espoused aggressively anti-LGBTQ views since its inception in the early 1990s. It was co-founded by a group of evangelical men, including Alan Sears, who co-authored a book called “The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today.” Since then, ADF has opposed gay marriage and supported bans on gay sex and on gender-affirming care for minors.
After helping overturn Roe v. Wade, ADF lawyers have led key victories at the Supreme Court. In 303 Creative v. Elenis, SCOTUS ruled that a website designer could refuse service to gay weddings. And this year they convinced the Court to overturn Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy and to uphold state laws in West Virginia and Idaho that ban trans girls from playing on girls’ sports teams.
At the summit, ADF President Kristen Waggoner, who has promoted conversion therapists and consistently misgenders trans people, interviewed these states’ attorneys general.
“The lawyers who were defending women’s sports were among the best I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey told Waggoner.
Similar to Johnson, Trump’s Assistant Secretary of Health Christine showed his commitment to governing based on conservative Christianity. He gave a Bible-thumping speech against gender transition and trans healthcare, saying that it “contradicts … the deeper moral order that is woven into creation itself. For Genesis 1:27 informs us that God created man in his own image. … Male and female” He also said the “complementary relationship between man and woman is divine” and advocated for youth with gender dysphoria to receive care from a pastor.
All of these remarks from politicians made me think of the interview I published earlier this week with Pete Hegseth’s pastor, Doug Wilson. He wants a Christian theocracy in America and told me that: both the perpetrator and the victim should be disciplined in some cases of marital rape; that transgender people are “sad;” that execution is justifiable for certain homosexual acts; and that gay sex should be illegal.
The ADF Summit is glossy and polished. And while its messaging may be less explicit than Pastor Wilson’s, the track record of the organizations shows they have the exact same desires. They’re just deeply strategic in what they say and when and how they say it.
I believe the political power players who attended this year’s summit know this. They know they are endorsing an organization whose members have essentially called for the illegalization of most — if not all ‚ forms of queer behavior and presentation.
In the last few years, these perspectives have become increasingly embedded in the highest rooms of the federal government and they have been effective in stripping away LGBTQ rights. Wilson, who just installed a full-time pastor in Washington to lead services, says there are 10 to 20 government officials who align with his church’s ideology.
It is vital for Americans to keep their eyes wide open to the ultimate goal of groups like ADF: to create a United States that leaves LGBTQ people without rights and that pushes us back in the closet.
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