National
‘This will be a very tough campaign’
Baldwin seeks to become first openly gay senator
U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who is seeking to become the next U.S. senator from Wisconsin, is warning supporters that the path to victory won’t be easy.
Baldwin (D-Wisc.), who declared her candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, described the challenge of her bid to become to first openly gay U.S. senator during a conference call Wednesday with LGBT media.
“What I do want everyone to know is this will be a very tough campaign,” Baldwin said. “Wisconsin is a deeply and evenly divided state. You’ve seen us go and back forth. You’ve seen Wisconsin come alive in the past few months in opposition to a group of state leaders who are not listening to the concerns of the people. But I think voters are going to hear me out and come to know that I am going to be a fighter.”
First up for Baldwin during the campaign: touring Wisconsin to listen to concerns and build name recognition among her potential constituents.
“In the months ahead, as I did over the past summer, I’m going to be traveling the state, meeting with people in their homes and workplaces,” Baldwin said. “You certainly know I’m well-known in the House district that I represent, but there are parts of Wisconsin where I have to go around and introduce myself.”
In the time she has spent speaking with voters, Baldwin said she has heard from people “again and again just how disgusted they are” with what’s happening in Washington.
“It’s clear to all of us that the middle class is getting completely slammed both in this economic environment and in this political environment,” Baldwin said. “I think we as the LGBT community can really understand the concerns we feel when we think our leaders aren’t taking our genuine challenges and struggles to heart.”
Chuck Wolfe, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, praised Baldwin during the conference call and said her bid for the Senate will be “an important race of our community.”
“The Victory Fund endorsed Tammy in her first state legislative race back in 1992,” Wolfe said. “She hasn’t lost a race. We hope we are able to help her continue that success rate all the way through 2012.”
The first major hurdle for Baldwin will be a Democratic primary challenge in September 2012. Both Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and former Rep. Steve Kagen have been named as possible contenders, although Baldwin at this point is the only announced Democratic candidate.
But polling has shown Baldwin to be ahead of both Kind and Kagen. During the conference call, Baldwin noted she voted in 2002 against the Iraq war resolution and in 1999 against the repeal of a financial regulation law known as the Glass-Steagall Act, which some say led to the financial crisis of 2008. Kind voted in favor of both measures.
“People will also recognize that I have a lifetime commitment to equality for all,” Baldwin said. “And I think they’ll learn that I’m not afraid to stand up to big and powerful interests.”
Asked whether she thinks she’ll have a Democratic opponent, Baldwin said, “I have no idea, but I’m prepared for any eventuality.”
Polls have shown that Baldwin is the front-runner in a Democratic primary, but the situation is different during the general election. Both former Gov. Tommy Thompson and announced U.S. Senate candidate Mark Neumann are slightly ahead of Baldwin in the polls.
But Baldwin dismissed this early polling and said any results obtained at this point would mostly “be related to name recognition.” She noted Thompson has held statewide office as governor and Neumann is a perennial statewide candidate, but she previously only had to be concerned about her House district.
“I think what’s much more important in terms of building a campaign is that once voters, for example, know there’s a candidate named Tammy Baldwin and she’s a fighter for the middle class, then you have, more or less, a deeply and evenly divided state in terms of Democrats and Republicans,” Baldwin said.
Asked whether being an out lesbian will be an issue during the Senate campaign, Baldwin said she thinks Wisconsin will value her honesty about her sexual orientation.
“I have always since the beginning in all my adult life been out and honest about my sexual orientation, and I think that voters appreciate the values of honestly and expect integrity in their elected officials,” Baldwin said.
Still, Baldwin maintained the race “won’t be about me” and instead will focus on the problems facing everyday Americans.
“It will be about the middle-class, the threats that they’re facing right now, the struggles that families are experiencing and which candidate for U.S. Senate is going to be the best fighter for them,” Baldwin said.
What will Baldwin do if confronted with homophobia and anti-gay attacks while on the campaign trail? The candidate pledged to respond to such attacks head on.
“To the extent that I’m faced with it in my campaign, I plan on responding very directly,” Baldwin said. “The campaign is unfolding across the country, but to the extent that it is raised in the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin, I am certainly not going to turn the other way.”
Asked whether she’ll promote LGBT rights, particularly the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, while on the campaign trail, the lawmaker said she has been talking about such issues in the context of larger discussions as she said Wisconsin in 1982 was the first state to enact protections based on sexual orientation.
“When I talk about the proud tradition of the state of Wisconsin and labor and equal rights — they are all in the same conversation,” Baldwin said. “People in Wisconsin feel proud of those firsts, all of them, and view them as interlinked. That’s the same sort of way, I think, at the national level that we weave these things together.”
A Wider Bridge on Friday announced it will shut down at the end of the month.
The group that “mobilizes the LGBTQ community to fight antisemitism and support Israel and its LGBTQ community” in a letter to supporters said financial challenges prompted the decision.
“After 15 years of building bridges between LGBTQ communities in North America and Israel, A Wider Bridge has made the difficult decision to wind down operations as of Dec. 31, 2025,” it reads.
“This decision comes after challenging financial realities despite our best efforts to secure sustainable funding. We deeply appreciate our supporters and partners who made this work possible.”
Arthur Slepian founded A Wider Bridge in 2010.
The organization in 2016 organized a reception at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference in Chicago that was to have featured to Israeli activists. More than 200 people who protested against A Wider Bridge forced the event’s cancellation.
A Wider Bridge in 2024 urged the Capital Pride Alliance and other Pride organizers to ensure Jewish people can safely participate in their events in response to an increase in antisemitic attacks after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported authorities in Vermont late last year charged Ethan Felson, who was A Wider Bridge’s then-executive director, with lewd and lascivious conduct after alleged sexual misconduct against a museum employee. Rabbi Denise Eger succeeded Felson as A Wider Bridge’s interim executive director.
A Wider Bridge in June honored U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) at its Pride event that took place at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. The event took place 15 days after a gunman killed two Israeli Embassy employees — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — as they were leaving an event at the museum.
“Though we are winding down, this is not a time to back down. We recognize the deep importance of our mission and work amid attacks on Jewish people and LGBTQ people – and LGBTQ Jews at the intersection,” said A Wider Bridge in its letter. “Our board members remain committed to showing up in their individual capacities to represent queer Jews across diverse spaces — and we know our partners and supporters will continue to do the same.”
Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers traveled to Israel and Palestine with A Wider Bridge in 2016.
The White House
‘Trump Rx’ plan includes sharp cuts to HIV drug prices
President made announcement on Friday
President Donald Trump met with leaders from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies at the White House on Friday to announce his new “Trump Rx” plan and outline efforts to reduce medication costs for Americans.
During the roughly 47-minute meeting in the Roosevelt Room, Trump detailed his administration’s efforts to cut prescription drug prices and make medications more affordable for U.S. patients.
“Starting next year, American drug prices will come down fast, furious, and will soon be among the lowest in the developed world,” Trump said during the meeting. “For decades, Americans have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs by far … We will get the lowest price of anyone in the world.”
Trump signed an executive order in May directing his administration “to do everything in its power to slash prescription drug prices for Americans while getting other countries to pay more.”
“This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American health care, by far, and every single American will benefit,” he added.
Several pharmaceutical executives stood behind the president during the announcement, including Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee, Boehringer Ingelheim (USA) CEO Jean-Michel Boers, Gilead Sciences CEO Dan O’Day, Bristol Myers Squibb General Counsel Cari Gallman, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Merck CEO Robert Davis, and Amgen Executive Vice President Peter Griffith.
Also in attendance were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary.
Under the Trump Rx plan, the administration outlined a series of proposed drug price changes across multiple companies and therapeutic areas. Among them were reductions for Amgen’s cholesterol-lowering drug repatha from $573 to $239; Bristol Myers Squibb’s HIV medication reyataz from $1,449 to $217; Boehringer Ingelheim’s type 2 diabetes medication jentadueto from $525 to $55; Genentech’s flu medication xofluza from $168 to $50; and Gilead Sciences’ hepatitis C medication epclusa from $24,920 to $2,425.
Additional reductions included several GSK inhalers — such as the asthma inhaler advair diskus 500/50, from $265 to $89 — Merck’s diabetes medication januvia from $330 to $100, Novartis’ multiple sclerosis medication mayzent from $9,987 to $1,137, and Sanofi’s blood thinner plavix from $756 to $16. Sanofi insulin products would also be capped at $35 per month’s supply.
These prices, however, would only be available to patients who purchase medications directly through TrumpRx. According to the program’s website, TrumpRx “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency, and cutting out costly third-party markups.”
Kennedy spoke after Trump, thanking the president for efforts to lower pharmaceutical costs in the U.S., where evidence has shown that drug prices — including both brand-name and generic medications — are nearly 2.78 times higher than prices in comparable countries. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, roughly half of every dollar spent on brand-name drugs goes to entities that play no role in their research, development, or manufacturing.
“This is affordability in action,” Kennedy said. “We are reversing that trend and making sure that Americans can afford to get the life-saving solutions.”
Gilead CEO Dan O’Day also spoke about how the restructuring of drug costs under TrumpRx, combined with emerging technologies, could help reduce HIV transmission — a virus that, if untreated, can progress to AIDS. The LGBTQ community remains disproportionately affected by HIV.
“Thank you, Mr. President — you and the administration,” O’Day said. “I think this objective of achieving the commitment to affordability and future innovation is extraordinary … We just recently launched a new medicine that’s only given twice a year to prevent HIV, and we’re working with Secretary Kennedy and his entire team, as well as the State Department, as a part of your strategy to support ending the epidemic during your term.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about the innovation that exists across these companies and the impact this could have on America’s health and economy,” he added.
Trump interjected, asking, “And that’s working well with HIV?”
“Yes,” O’Day replied.
“It’s a big event,” Trump said.
“It literally prevents HIV almost 100 percent given twice a year,” O’Day responded.
A similar anti-HIV medication is currently prescribed more than injectable form mentioned by O’Day. PrEP, is a medication regimen proven to significantly reduce HIV infection rates for people at high risk. Without insurance, brand-name Truvada can cost roughly $2,000 per month, while a generic version costs about $60 per month.
Even when medication prices are reduced, PrEP access carries additional costs, including clinic and laboratory fees, office visits, required HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing, adherence services and counseling, and outreach to potentially eligible patients and providers.
According to a 2022 study, the annual total cost per person for PrEP — including medication and required clinical and laboratory monitoring — is approximately $12,000 to $13,000 per year.
The TrumpRx federal platform website is now live at TrumpRx.gov, but the program is not slated to begin offering reduced drug prices until January.
The White House
EXCLUSIVE: Democracy Forward files FOIA lawsuit after HHS deadnames Rachel Levine
Trans former assistant health secretary’s name changed on official portrait
Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that works to advance democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement, filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court seeking to compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release information related to the alteration of former Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Rachel Levine’s official portrait caption.
The lawsuit comes in response to the slow pace of HHS’s handling of multiple Freedom of Information Act requests — requests that federal law requires agencies to respond to within 20 working days. While responses can take longer due to backlogs, high request volumes, or the need for extensive searches or consultations, Democracy Forward says HHS has failed to provide any substantive response.
Democracy Forward’s four unanswered FOIA requests, and the subsequent lawsuit against HHS, come days after someone in the Trump-Vance administration changed Levine’s official portrait in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building to display her deadname — the name she used before transitioning and has not used since 2011.
According to Democracy Forward, HHS “refused to release any records related to its morally wrong and offensive effort to alter former Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine’s official portrait caption.” Levine was the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in U.S. history and served as assistant secretary for health and as an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from 2021 to 2025.
Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman spoke about the need to hold the Trump-Vance administration accountable for every official action, especially those that harm some of the most targeted Americans, including trans people.
“The question every American should be asking remains: what is the Trump-Vance administration hiding? For an administration that touts its anti-transgender animus and behavior so publicly, its stonewalling and silence when it comes to the people’s right to see public records about who was behind this decision is deafening,” Perryman said.
“The government’s obligation of transparency doesn’t disappear because the information sought relates to a trailblazing former federal official who is transgender. It’s not complicated — the public is entitled to know who is making decisions — especially decisions that seek to alter facts and reality, erase the identity of a person, and affect the nation’s commitment to civil rights and human dignity.”
“HHS’s refusal to respond to these lawful requests raises more serious concerns about transparency and accountability,” Perryman added. “The public has every right to demand answers — to know who is behind this hateful act — and we are going to court to get them.”
The lawsuit also raises questions about whether the alteration violated federal accuracy and privacy requirements governing Levine’s name, and whether the agency improperly classified the change as an “excepted activity” during a lapse in appropriations. By failing to make any determination or produce any records, Democracy Forward argues, HHS has violated its obligations under federal law.
The case, Democracy Forward Foundation v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The legal team includes Anisha Hindocha, Daniel McGrath, and Robin Thurston.
The Washington Blade reached out to HHS, but has not received any comment.
The lawsuit and four FOIA requests are below:
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