National
Boehner maxes out $1.5 mil cost cap for DOMA defense
Dems decry continued support for anti-gay law as ‘unconscionable’


The $1.5 million cost cap that House Speaker John Boehner has allotted to defend DOMA has been reached (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The House Republican-led panel that has taken up defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court has maxed out the $1.5 million cost cap set to hire private attorneys to advocate for the anti-gay law, according to a report from Democratic lawmakers.
On Tuesday, Democrats on the Committee on House Administration made public a report stating the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group ā which took up defense of DOMA after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law in court ā has reached expenses totaling out to $1,447,996.73 over the course of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
That’s just shy of the $1.5 million cost cap that House Republicans set last year to pay private attorney Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under the Bush administration, to defend DOMA. Thus far, Clement has lost in five federal courts against lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of DOMA ā most notably after U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals became the first appellate court to strike down the law.
In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed House Republicans and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for their continued defense of DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, at the expense of taxpayer money.
āFor more than a year, Speaker Boehner and Congressional Republicans have committed valuable taxpayer dollars to defending discrimination and preserving inequality ā only to lose case after case in their effort to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act,” Pelosi said. “There is nothing effective or efficient about this utter abuse of the peopleās trust or the public purse; it is simply wasteful and wrong, and Americans deserve better.”
Pelosi added that it’s “unconscionable” for House Republicans ā including Chair of the Committee on House Administration Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) ā to have authorized a contract to hire a private attorney to defend the DOMA in court and renewed her call for them “to drop their frivolous, taxpayer-funded lawsuits without any delay.”
“Rather than join Democrats to create jobs and strengthen the middle class, Republicans refuse to abandon their reprehensible fight to deny basic civil rights and justice to an entire group of their fellow Americans,” Pelosi said. “The American people should no longer have to foot the bill for Speaker Boehnerās campaign to appease the most conservative forces within the Republican Party.”
The report produced by Democrats on the House itemizes the expenses for defense of DOMA on a periodic basis. Total expenses for defending DOMA in court was $702,205.57Ā in FY-11 and $745,791.16 inĀ FY-12.
The last billable period was from July 1 to Aug. 15, which totaled out toĀ $169,237.35. More activity in defending DOMA has already occurred since that time, including Clement’s defense of DOMA late last month before the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals against New York widow Edith Windsor’s challenge to the law.
The highest periodic expense for defending was between June 1 and July 31 when $358,736.58 was expended to defend the anti-gay law. At that time, there was a flurry of activity on DOMA because the Obama administration for the first time filed a legal brief against the law in the case of Golinksi v. Office of Personnel Management.
Now that the cost cap for funding the defense of DOMA has been reached, questions linger about whether House Republicans will raise the cap to continue Ā defend against DOMA litigation, which is currently pending for considering before the U.S. Supreme Court. A provision in contract enables an increase in the cost capĀ upon agreement of the parties involved.
Neither Boehner’s office nor the House Committee on Administration responded to the Washington Blade’s request to comment about the cost cap or whether Republicans would raise the limit to defend the anti-gay law.
Doug NeJaime, who’s gay and a law professor at Loyola Law School, said he’s unable to comment on the cost cap itself, but predicted that continued defense of the law before the Supreme Court would come at considerable expense.
“Iām not surprised at how much in legal fees has been expended up to this point,” NeJaime said. “There are multiple DOMA suits pending and there has been a flurry of activity at the Supreme Court, and BLAG is represented by an experienced and expensive legal team. If the Supreme Court takes up DOMA, these fees will increase considerably.”
Other Democrats followed Pelosi’s lead in criticizing House Republicans. New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution,Ā took Boehner to task in a statement for expending $1.5 million to pay for the defense of the anti-gay law.
āSpeaker Boehner has wasted more than a year, and more than $1.5 million taxpayer dollars defending DOMA,” Nadler said. “So far, he has lost five cases in a row as every court has ruled that there is no legitimate justification for this law. Every day, DOMA harms thousands of American couples and their children. Instead of wasting taxpayer money defending this unjust law in court, Speaker Boehner should join us in our effort to repeal it.”
In a separate statement to the Blade,Ā Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.)Ā decried House Republicans’ defense of DOMA in response to an inquiry on whether he’d oppose further raising the cost cap for House Republicans to advocate on behalf of DOMA in court.
āItās a waste of taxpayer money to spend more on overpriced lawyers to defend an outdated, unconstitutional law ā one that is opposed by the majority of Americans,” Honda said. “We should be focused on creating jobs, bringing down the deficit, and getting the economy back on track. Loving, committed couples are making lifelong promises of fidelity to one another. Itās past time the federal government stop singling out the LGBT community and celebrate these families like any other.ā
As a member of theĀ House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, the lawmaker last year raisedĀ questions about whether allocating funds for the defense of DOMA violatedĀ the Anti-Deficiency Act.
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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