National
Advocates still pushing Obama on exec order
Mixed views on whether White House will change course


Tico Almeida, executive director of Freedom to work, said he’s hopeful that President obama will change course and sign an executive order barring workplace discrimination against LGBT employees of federal contractors. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
LGBT advocates and lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to press President Obama to issue an executive order barring LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors, despite the announcement that the directive won’t happen at this time.
Though the pressure continues, there are mixed views about whether a change of course is likely to happen during Obama’s first term.
A Senate Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “more than one Democratic office” on Capitol Hill is pushing the White House to reconsider the decision not to issue the executive order, although the source wouldn’t identify which offices were speaking with the White House.
“There are ongoing discussions, and I think there’s going to be senator-level discussions,” the aide said.
Asked what the response has been from the administration, the aide said White House officials weren’t “too sympathetic to the notion that the president should issue the executive order,” but predicted pressure from Capitol Hill would “grow louder and louder.”
The aide said Obama could still issue the executive order before the end of this term, saying, “I think there’s more than enough wiggle room that the White House has left itself.”
Advocates were told on April 11 during a high-level White House meeting that Obama wouldn’t issue such a directive at this time and prefers to pursue passage of legislation to address the issue known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) criticized the White House publicly in a statement, and disappointment was echoed by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who circulated a letter among colleagues that urged Obama to sign the directive. Gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said he wished the president “was a little more aggressive” in combatting workplace discrimination in an interview with Roll Call.
Several LGBT advocates echoed the feeling that the fight is not over on the executive order and that the administration could issue the directive before the year is out.
“It is my understanding from conversations with Hill staffers that their bosses are privately engaging the White House to explain to them the mistake that was made by delaying the executive order, and encouraging them to fix the mistake sooner rather than later,” said Tico Almeida, executive director of Freedom to Work.
Almeida said he’s engaged in meetings with White House staff and is proposing further discussions to address remaining concerns about the executive order. He plans to fly in from across the country LGBT victims of workplace discrimination to meet with senior officials and members of Congress.
“I’m optimistic that the White House staff will take this very seriously and I maintain some hope that President Obama will correct the mistake made by White House staff, who decided to delay the executive order,” Almeida said. “I maintain hope that the president will sign it in May or June.”
Jeff Krehely, vice president for LGBT programs at the Center for American Progress, said his organization continues to have conversations with White House officials and has exchanged documentation about the executive order following the April 11 meeting.
“There have definitely been a couple of conversations thinking through whether there’s a need for additional research of perspectives on the problem,” Krehely said. “From CAP’s perspective, we’ve been clear that we’ve all in the advocacy community done quite a bit of research, shown the magnitude of the problem, the legal authority the president has to act on an executive order. I think we’re just having a conversation about making sure that everybody in all the different places in the administration is fully aware of all the research that’s been done to date on the issue.”
Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles, said his organization has taken part in meetings with administration officials on publicly available research the organization has showing businesses thrive when they have LGBT non-discrimination protections in place and that the executive order is legally sound.
“My impression from those meetings is the White House doesn’t have a question about either of those,” Sears said. “We believe that the policy research and the legal authority is there.”
According to a report published last week by the organization, 86 percent of all federal contractors protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 55 percent on the basis of gender identity. The combined total means almost one-half of all federal contractors have LGBT protections, which amounts to more than $249 billion in federal spending.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, said his organization has joined in conversations with the White House on the executive order.
“Along with CAP and the Williams Institute, we are compiling all of our comprehensive materials for the White House that makes the case for this common-sense order,” Cole-Schwartz said. “While we continue to advocate for these workplace protections, we believe that the arguments have been ironclad even before we were informed that the White House would not be taking action at this time.”
A White House spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Krehely added he thinks there’s room for Obama to issue the executive order during his first term because White House officials didn’t deliver a hard “no” during the April 11 meeting, but rather said they weren’t issuing the order at this time.
But other LGBT advocates, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity to be more forthcoming on their views, weren’t as optimistic and didn’t see a path for the executive order this year.
“They have doubled down on their strategy on the executive order,” one advocate said. “I don’t believe they will reverse their course. I think the EO is done until after the election.”
According to the source, the decision has implications for Obama’s 18-month long “evolution” on marriage.
“With respect to marriage, there are a lot of cards still to be played, like the convention and the ballot states,” the advocate said. “Unfortunately, the mood has turned dire in that if they didn’t let the EO proceed, it stands to reason that the president won’t announce a pro for marriage equality position before the election. I don’t know that for sure but it stands to reason.”
Another anonymous source who has an interest in building LGBT support for Obama in the election expressed a similar sentiment about the prospects for an executive order against workplace discrimination this term.
“The thing about executive orders is that he can issue them whenever he wants, but he’s not going to,” the source said. “In the meeting they made it very clear that they’re not going to do it.”
Another source with connections to the White House said political concerns played a role in the decision not to issue the executive order. According to the source, there are fears that issuing the order could give the impression that the White House is trying to bypass Congress and that such actions won’t play well in battleground states like Ohio, which could determine the outcome of the election.
In an interview with the Washington Blade last week, gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) expressed a similar sentiment.
“I understand there’s a lot on the plate politically,” Frank said. “And there are concerns now — not about LGBT issues — but there’s a whole developing argument about his being too much unilateral. I don’t know if you saw the article in the New York Times about too much unilateral executive order, and I think that had more to do with it than the LGBT specifics.”
But two sources expressed confidence that Obama would issue the executive order in a second term if Congress fails to act on ENDA.
“I’d be very surprised if he didn’t do this in a second term, and I’d be very surprised if he didn’t come out for marriage in a second term,” one source said.
Since the April 11 meeting, Obama endorsed legislation that aims to protect LGBT students from bullying, known as the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe School Improvement Act. Additionally, the Blade has learned that the White House plans to host another Pride celebration during the month of June.
Even so, some LGBT organizations have pledged to continue pressing for the executive order.
Heather Cronk, managing director for GetEQUAL, said her organization has had positive reactions in meetings that supporters have had with various Obama campaign offices on LGBT workplace discrimination.
“What we’ve discovered through those campaign actions is a lot of the campaign staff agreed with us that the president, the candidate they’re working for, should sign the executive order,” Cronk said. “It was clear to us that we didn’t actually want to do too hard-hitting action at some of those offices because we were finding that the staff and volunteers agreed with us.”
Supporters at Obama campaign offices in Virginia, Los Angeles, Austin and Laramie, Wyo.,delivered pens to campaign officials — in case the president couldn’t find something to write with — in a symbolic action to encourage the president to sign the order.
Next on the agenda for GetEQUAL, Cronk said, will be actions “more theatrical in nature” to drive the point less to the Obama campaign offices and more to campaign headquarters.
“The pressure isn’t letting off,” Cronk said. “We still have our foot on the gas and we still think there’s an opportunity for President Obama to do the right thing, and we’ll keep escalating until we either get another response from the White House with a more definitive ‘no,’ or get an affirmative response from the White House and see an executive signing in the next month.”
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Federal Courts
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.
The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”
Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.
“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.
Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.
Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”
Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.
“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”
“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.
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