National
Service chiefs to testify on ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal
Full committee hearing follows subcommittee testimony

The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled on Thursday to hear testimony from the military service chiefs on the progress of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal implementation.
The uniform heads of the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps are set to make an appearance before lawmakers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary R0ughead, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. Representing the Army will be Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli.
The hearing — which is set to begin at 1 pm in Room 2118 in the Rayburn House Office Building — is scheduled to be split into two panels. Chiarelli is slated to speak during the first panel, while Roughead, Amos and Schwartz are set to speak during the second panel.
Some members of the Joint Staff — especially Amos, who said he feared that open service could cause a distraction that could lead to the loss of Marines’ lives — were against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal when it came before Congress last year. However, each of the services issued guidanceĀ stating that they would proceed to implement repeal after Congress acted to lift military’s gay ban.
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), chair of the committee, was among the most vocal opponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal last year and cast “no” votes on repeal measures both times they came to the House floor.
A spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee didn’t respond on short notice to comment on the planned testimony or what McKeon hopes to accomplish with the hearing.
In December, President Obama signed legislation allowing for repeal of āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell,ā but the anti-gay law will only be off the books following 60 days after the president, the defense secretary, and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify the U.S military is ready for open service. Gay service members are still in danger of discharge from the armed services until the certification process is complete.
The scheduled hearing on Friday comes on the heels of a previous hearing the Republican-controlled House held last week on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, which was before the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee.Ā During the hearing, Pentagon officials said certification for open service could happen mid-summer while GOP lawmakers expressed discontent with moving toward an end to the military’s gay ban.
Those who worked to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” last year said they didn’t anticipate the upcoming hearing would have an impact on disrupting the process leading to implementing open service in the U.S. military.
Alex Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, said the second hearing on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal before the Republican-controlled House “is yet another example of some of these legislators contradicting their own principles.”
“This issue has been settled, the Department of Defense has embraced this change, and trying to re-open this debate is a complete waste of both taxpayer money and the valuable time of these senior defense leaders in the midst of multiple overseas conflicts,” Nicholson said. “The Joint Staff has made it clear that prior predictions of doom and gloom following repeal were misguided and that their respective services are more than capable of handling this change in policy.”
Winnie Stachelberg, vice president for external affairs at the Center for American Progress, said she doesn’t anticipate “much to see” or “bumps in the road” at the upcoming hearing.
“We saw the trailer of the movie last week, and now we’re going to see the full-length film this week,” Stachelberg said. “The service chiefs are all on board, according to their recent public statements. And we’re on track, I think, for certification in the next few months — even before all the trainings are finished.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this posting incorrectly stated that hearing would take place on Friday.
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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