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Gibbs: Obama will ‘work to make progress’ on ENDA

Published

14 years ago

on

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (Blade photo by Michael Key)

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday the Obama administration would “work to make progress” on advancing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the current Congress despite Republican control of the U.S. House.

Asked by the Washington Blade whether the president expects passage of the legislation in U.S. Senate, where Democrats still hold a majority, Gibbs identified ENDA as among “a whole host things that the president has made part of his campaign.”

“We talked about DOMA a few days ago, ENDA, and other things that are important to build off the progress of repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” Gibbs said. “I think those continue to be priorities of the president’s and we will certainly work to make progress on those fronts in obviously a much more challenging Congress over the course of the next two years.”

As it was introduced in the 111th Congress, ENDA would prohibit job discrimination against LGBT people in most situations in the public and private workforce. In 2007, a version of ENDA passed the U.S. House that contained protections only on the basis of sexual orientation.

Even with Republicans in control of the House, where movement of the legislation is unlikely, Gibbs acknowledged that passage in the Senate would have value as a way to build momentum to complete legislative action at a later time.

“I think there’s no doubt that whenever you get something done in one [chamber], you’re certainly seeing it come to fruition,” he said.

Gibbs declined to comment on whether Obama would address ENDA in the State of the Union address, saying he wasn’t “going to get into previewing” the speech. The address is set to happen on Tuesday before a joint session of Congress.

ENDA in the last Congress saw no movement in either the House or the Senate. In the House, there was speculation that opponents would use a maneuver called the motion to recommit on the floor to target the transgender language and derail the legislation. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t bring ENDA up for a vote until legislative action was complete on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The complete exchange between the Blade and Gibbs follows:

Washington Blade: One of President Obama’s campaign promises back in 2008 was passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would provide workplace protections to gay and transgender Americans. Is this something the president expects to see passed over the course of the 112th Congress at least in the Senate, where Democrats still have control?

Robert Gibbs: Look, I think there’s a whole host of things that the president has made part of his campaign. We talked about DOMA a few days ago, ENDA, and other things that are important to build off the progress of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I think those continue to be priorities of the president’s and we will certainly work to make progress on those fronts in obviously a much more challenging Congress over the course of the next two years.

Blade: But in the Senate, where Democrats still have control is he expecting passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act?

Gibbs: Again, I think you will see the president continue to push on whole host of those issues.

Blade: Does the administration see value in passing ENDA in one chamber of Congress to build momentum for complete passage at a later time?

Gibbs: Yeah, I think there’s no doubt that whenever you get something done in one, you’re certainly seeing it come to fruition, so, yes, obviously.

Blade: Will the president address ENDA in any context during the State of the Union address? Perhaps as a jobs bill?

Gibbs: I’m not going to get into previewing the State of the Union today.

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Politics

Biden-Harris administration sets record for number of confirmed LGBTQ judges

Mary Kay Costello Senate confirmation took place Tuesday

Published

16 hours ago

on

September 18, 2024

By

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The U.S. Senate voted 52-41 on Tuesday to confirm Mary Kay Costello as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, thereby setting a record for the number of LGBTQ federal judicial appointments made under the Biden-Harris administration, 12.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights says less than three percent of the country’s nearly 900 federal judges are LGBTQ. Until this week, the Obama-Biden administration had appointed the most, 11, over two terms.

Costello is a prosecutor who has served as assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia since 2008.

In a post on X, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority wrote that she “exhibits a breadth of experience and a strong dedication to public service” and is “ready to serve as a federal judge.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the Democratic majority whip and chair of the committee, shared another post on X celebrating the administration’s record-breaking number of LGBTQ judicial appointments, writing, “We’re diversifying the federal judiciary for generations to come.”

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Politics

PREVIEW: Biden grants exclusive interview to the Blade, congratulates Sarah McBride

The sit-down took place in the Oval Office on Thursday

Published

6 days ago

on

September 13, 2024

By

President Joe Biden and Christopher Kane in the Oval Office on Sept. 12, 2024 (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride, who is favored to become the first transgender member of Congress after winning the Democratic primary this week, received a congratulatory call on Wednesday from a powerful friend and ally: President Joe Biden.

The president shared details about their conversation with the Washington Blade during an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Thursday, which will be available to read online early next week.

“I called her and I said, ‘Sarah,’ I said, ‘Beau’s looking down from heaven, congratulating you,'” Biden said, referring to his late son, who had served as attorney general of Delaware before his death from cancer in 2015.

McBride had worked on Beau Biden’s campaign in 2006 and on his reelection campaign in 2010. Two years later, when she came out as transgender, the AG called to say, “I’m so proud of you. I love you, and you’re still a part of the Biden family.”

The president told the Blade that McBride welled with emotion — “she started to fill up” — as she responded that the “‘only reason I’m here is because of Beau. He had confidence in me.’”

When the two worked together, “[Beau] was getting the hell kicked out” of him because “he hired her,” Biden said, but “now she’s going to be the next congresswoman, the next congresswoman from Delaware.”

Later, when asked how he will remain involved in the struggle for LGBTQ rights after leaving office, the president again mentioned McBride. “Delaware used to be a pretty conservative state, and now we’re going to have — Sarah is going to be, I pray to God, a congresswoman.”

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Politics

Harris puts Trump on his heels in high-stakes debate

Little mention of LGBTQ issues during 90-minute showdown

Published

1 week ago

on

September 10, 2024

By

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (Screen capture: CNN/YouTube)

In the presidential debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris put Donald Trump on the defensive over issues from foreign policy and the ongoing criminal prosecutions against him to his record and moral character.

The 90-minute exchange featured no discussion of LGBTQ issues, apart from a baseless accusation by Trump that his opponent “wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison.”

The remark echoed statements Trump has made recently on the campaign trail, for example in Wisconsin on Monday where he said that children are, however implausibly, returning home from school having underwent sex change operations.

Similarly, during the debate the former president asserted without evidence that Democrats favor abortions up to and following delivery, which would amount to infanticide.

“There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,” interjected ABC News anchor Linsey Davis, a moderator, who then allowed Harris to respond.

“Well, as I said, you’re gonna hear a bunch of lies, and that’s not actually a surprising fact,” the vice president replied before addressing the question at hand, which concerned abortion.

While Harris did not address the matter of “transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison,” viewers on X were quick to mock the comment.

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